Handiwork

At the end of November Jared, Abigail, and I spent a day at Jared's mom's place going through her home and helping her clear out and make room. One of the things we took out of her home that day was some old quilts. Some were completed and in need of repair, some were in progress, and one was just a completed quilt top. I didn't really look at them that day but when I got home and was going through everything I pulled out this beautiful hand-stitched quilt top. I immediately knew I had to find a way to complete this quilt because it would make the perfect Christmas gift for my mother-in-law. I bought some soft flannel for the back and some lovely grey binding and got to work. 

I'm really not much of a quilter and this is only the second quilt I've ever made; or at least the second I've ever made correctly. Up until about three months ago every quilt I've made has been sort of thrown together in the easiest way I could figure out and the end results were warm but not very beautiful. I knew this beautiful old quilt deserved to be finished up correctly so I took my time and worked carefully. I did really simple machine quilting by sewing around the inside of every white area with a 1/4" seam.


The quilt is made up of tiny little squares (about 3/4" across) arranged in a diamond pattern. For me, one of the most fun parts of this project was finding some pretty sweet little squares of vintage fabrics as I was quilting. I'm sure each one has a story behind it and I wish I knew what all of those stories were.



 I found this happy little grandfather clock fabric in many places on the quilt and it always made me smile
I love the floral with the navy background and would definitely wear a skirt or dress made out of it today!
This pink Christmas tree fabric was only represented once on the quilt but it was so sweet and cheery
I was prepared to sew the binding on the way I did it on the last quilt I finished by first sewing the binding by machine to the front of the quilt and then wrapping it around and hand sewing it to the back. My only concern was that I wouldn't be able to finish the binding in time because I didn't start it until December 23rd. I was once again thankful for my parents and the lovely sewing machine they bought me last year because I was able to sew the binding on completely by machine and use a really cute blanket stitch that I think looked perfect with the old fabrics and hand sewn quilt top. 


Even better than the pretty finished product was the fact that the gift was well-received! Or at least I think it was, maybe my mother-in-law was using the quilt all weekend because our house is so cold?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is Faith?

Image
What would you say if someone asked you what faith is? In Hebrews 11, Paul defined faith as "the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The assurance of things hoped for - faith is knowing that because of Jesus Christ, we can hope for a brighter future. I feel as if hope and faith are one and the same. Life can be heartbreakingly difficult sometimes and even though I know that challenges are there to help us learn and grow, I sure wish I didn't have to go through those hard times. When I have felt surrounded by struggles and I couldn't see any way that things would ever get better, the only thing that has kept me moving forward is hope. Not the kind of hope that is sort of wishful like hoping your team wins a World Cup game, but hope that is sure because it is based on Christ. Having faith in Jesus Christ is having hope and knowing that His promises are sure.  The evidence of things not seen - faith in God grows when we see Him working in our...
Read more

Anxiety, Friendship, and Insecurity

This post has been kicking around in my head for a while now. My emotions have been closer to the surface lately - which can be both good and bad.  For a couple of weeks last month it was a bad thing and I found myself crying at pretty much everything and feeling alone and friendless even when I was surrounded by people. You'd think I'd be better at making friends after almost forty years of moving and having to form new connections at each new place. Instead, the older I get, the more difficult the process becomes. Even after I make friends deep down I question if we're really friends. I think these feelings of insecurity are part of what makes me willing to do almost anything for my friends. If I do nice things for you maybe you'll continue to tolerate my presence? I think I do a pretty good job hiding my insanity. I can fake confidence really well - smiling and laughing and making small talk. And then I go home and overanalyze and question every little thing I said...
Read more

Four Decades

Image
Birthdays are markers in our lives. Moving from one decade to another is a milestone that is not marked by an accomplishment or an important decision, but simply your age. That's something you can't control as time keeps moving forward whether we're ready for it or not. I can honestly say that I'm not bothered by turning forty and that I still look forward to my birthdays. But there's no denying that those milestone birthdays (you know the ones, they end in zero) are a big deal. A time that, for me, leads to some looking back to see if I've accomplished anything worthwhile in the previous decade of my life or in any of the decades of my life.  So I found photos of myself at all those other ages that end in zero. Maybe if I take it a decade at a time it will be easier to see what I've learned? Seriously, whose dog is this? Italy, 1981 Okay, this first one is already breaking the rules as it's not from a milestone birthday. I have two pictures...
Read more