Friday, April 17, 2009

My Quilt Festival Entry

I decided to become a part of an on-line blog quilt festival.
Part of the festival is to post your favorite quilt ever done and it's "story"...here is mine

My favorite COMPLETED Quilt Project that I have ever done was a quilt that I made for my husbands father for Christmas a few years ago.

We had decided that year that we (and by we, I mean I) would make quilts for all his family for Christmas. So, I began with his siblings...a 11 year old girl and a 12 year old boy.

Frogs for a boy with a fun pattern...

Flowers and pink for a girl with a fun pattern...

These 2 were easy to decide on and went very quickly when I started sewing them.

Next I started working on his mom's quilt. We picked a BEAUTIFUL pattern from a book and I started sewing... It went very quickly and turned out even better than I could have imagined! I'll be honest, I wanted to keep this one for myself :)

Finally...to decide on a pattern for his dad - good luck!!! It was very difficult for me to find something that I really liked that looked "manly" enough for his dad. I should put in a side-note here that I have NEVER met my husband's father, so I don't know him all that well...so it was a guessing game on my part. First, I decided on colors...because I thought that would be the easy part - boy, was I wrong!! I FINALLY (after about an hour of searching in 1 store) decided on a black on black and a dark maroon. My husband agreed that they were great colors for his dad.
Next, I had to find a pattern. I looked and looked and couldn't find anything that I really liked for my father-in-law. So, I decided to just make one up...After completing it, my mom quilted it for me (thanks, mom) and we wrapped and sent them to my in-laws. He absolutely loved it...and it made ma happy to know that I had made it all myself - no pattern or copying for this one...Hope you all enjoy seeing it as much as I do - I love to look at my very own creation :)

29 comments:

Bunny said...

I love the design you came up with for the maroon an black quilt. Great quilt. The other three pictured are fabulous too.

Doris said...

That is an awesome, "improvised" quilt! You could probably sell that pattern, maybe try submitting it to a magazine...

Amy Sp said...

A great design by you! Very manly too ;)

Mary P said...

Very cool. I like that it is masculine--it's hard to find these days!

rachel griffith said...

great manly quilt.

Zonnah said...

What a great pattern!

Janet Brady said...

Great design, very graphic with alot of visual impact. Keep designing more. I find quilting much more rewarding when I design the quilt myself.

Frogdancer said...

I love the pattern. Sometimes, the bold, simple designs are by the far the most effective. Excellent work!

Anonymous said...

A manly man's quilt. Good work.

stitchinpenny said...

It is a great quilt for a man. The colors are dark, but bold enough to make a statement.

Unknown said...

Great Quilt! I love your pattern and the colors are just right for a manly quilt :) Thanks for sharing!

Quilt Rat said...

Manly yes! I like it too

Micki said...

A great pattern! I love it!
Micki

Coloradolady said...

Such wonderful quilts. I don't know if I would have the courage to try and make up a pattern..heck I don't even quilt and don't know if I could even follow a pattern at all!! Lovely colors too.

Ariane said...

I love the quilt. A great pattern for a man, and one you designed yourself. Amazing!!

Quiltin Jenny said...

That's a terrific design! You should do a tutorial. Great for a masculine quilt and perfect for bold, graphic fabrics.

Nice job!

whoopdedoo_5 said...

really love this! great work!

Robin said...

What a neat design! You did an amazing job. And your mom's quilting is just perfect as well. Thanks so much for sharing it.

Nadine said...

Your FIL's quilt is just wonderful! I really like the design, and the quilting is just perfect too! Isn't it funny how many times those "we" things become "I" things? ;)

Stephanie D said...

Nice choice of colors and I love the design you came up with!

Mandy said...

A very masculine colour scheme. Wonderful quilt.

me said...

You really should try and write up the pattern and submit it- many of us need more manly patterns in our repertoire... great job on all of them!

Rhonda said...

Your design is fantastic and looks complicated. Great job!!!!

Pamela said...

That is a wonderful design! Men are really hard to make for, and this is a great design for a guy quilt.

SewCalGal said...

You have a great style. I love your selection of fabrics. Cheerful & comforting colors! You did a great job.

Thank you for sharing.

SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

Jeannette said...

Your quilts are such a clear example of the beauty of interlocking repetative pattern and strong color choices. Lovely all.

Kristin said...

Crazy ambitious! I started a tradition of homemade gifts for David's family and 7 years into the marriage it's killing me. And I do easy things!

I can't believe you've never met your father in law. That's too bad.

In the tent said...

Hi,

With your permission I'd like to add your blog to the blog page of my new quilting directory, Quilt Qua : http://www.quiltqua.com/links/blogs/ You can let me know if you'd like to be included. If you would like to be on the first alpha list, you simply need to let me know you've made mention, or placed a link on your site, back to Quilt Qua. I can send you a graphic if you'd like one for that purpose.

I try to check my lists, so if I've already contacted you, I'm sorry.

I look forward to hearing from you. Please note photos are always welcome on the Show and Tell page (right now there is a giveaway connected to the show and tell), and do let me know if I've missed your business to list on the web site!


--
Thank you,
Connie Colten
Quilt Qua
www.quiltqua.com
619-562-0867

Kelly Shoroye said...

Jaici, It's Kelly Shoroye from Hawaii, I am so glad I found you. How are you guys? I love all of your crafting, your quilts are georgeous! Our blog is ebishoroye.blogspot.com