Monday, June 17, 2019

Down memory lane

Hello, friends!  Long time no see! What can I say?  Life happens.  It has been a jam-packed couple of weeks. I went to my usual conference and participated in a panel presentation, which was fun and interesting, but exhausting.  The conference was in Pittsburgh this year, and let me tell you-- Pittsburgh is a beautiful city! We didn't get a lot of time to explore, but I would definitely go back. After the conference we went to visit the grandchildren, and that was pure bliss.  My oldest grandson kept calling me "honey," and they were all just a joy.

On the home front, I've been trying to sew, but literally every time I pull out the machine, someone wants to look at the house.  This is great, but frustrating! We think we may have found a house in Baltimore, too, if someone else hasn't bought it before this publishes.  The housing market is crazy!  We've scheduled times to look at houses, only to get canceled because someone bought it before we could get there.  I guess we'll know pretty soon, though!

Since I haven't been sewing, how about a trip down memory lane instead? I have a few pre-blogging quilts that I've never talked about and they're feeling neglected, so how about a good look at this one:


Wow, that's a lot of color! It's really a lot, because this quilt is huge-- 74 by 96. I'm pretty sure that was the biggest quilt I had made at that point.

I made this quilt in 2006 for my daughter to take to college.  She was very involved and helped choose the fabrics and the backing.  You can tell she's my kid, because I think there are 52 different fabrics in the blocks, plus the background, backing, and sashing, and all of them are colorful.  Most I wouldn't have chosen, but they work great here.


This quilt taught me so much.  It's from a pattern in Quiltmaker magazine (sorry that I didn't keep the pattern so I can't even tell you when it was published, but I think it was 2005) and is the first quilt that I fully paper pieced.  I think I had made a wall hanging size quilt to learn paper piecing, but the blocks here were all paper pieced.  I remember tracing the pattern onto a lightweight paper instead of using a copier, and there are 48 blocks, so you know that took forever.  It certainly did teach me paper piecing, though!

This quilt also taught me to measure twice.  It happens that I cut every single piece of the sashing half an inch too short.  10-inch blocks, 10-inch sashing, right?  I cried when I realized my mistake, but then I just cut more, which means that I had pieces of that pink hanging around here for years.  There's probably still some somewhere.


This might be the first quilt I had long armed, too.  It was such a behemoth that there was no way that I could even think of quilting it.  It's also quite heavy, but she went to college in Wisconsin and lived in the dorm, so it worked out! I certainly got no complaints that it was too warm.


I've been storing this for awhile, so now it's going back to live at my daughter's house.  We've talked a bit about cutting into two smaller quilts (horrors!) and that may happen someday if she has more kids.  I'd love to see grandchildren playing with the quilt.  It would make two perfect kid quilts, don't you think?


All this time later, I still love this quilt. It was way outside my comfort zone at the time, and I would do so much differently now (use a copier, for one), but it's still great. And my daughter still loves it, so that's a win all around.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer.  I'm going to try to pull out the machine this week and get some things done.  If someone buys the house, that would be better because I could make a mess again, so send all your good vibes! I'll be back sooner rather than later!

Sharing at Let's Bee Social, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and Finished or Not Friday.

20 comments:

Charlotta said...

What a great quilt! I recognize so many of the fabrics in it! Just the kind of wild quilt I loved to make - indeed I still do, though it’s been a while since I’ve made one like that. I still have plenty bright and bold fabrics, though, and I’m sure I might make a quilt very much like that one some day again.
I can’t quite imagine cutting it in two, though! Why not just make another one for the other child? I’m pretty sure that’s what I would do.

KaHolly said...

This quilt was quite obviously a labor of love! We’re lucky to have daughters who appreciate our quilts. Mine wore her college dorm quilt out and I had to replace it when I couldn’t repair it any more. Well, has there been house hunting/selling success? I’ve never been in the position to have to buy and sell at the same time and that thought makes me cringe.

MissPat said...

I love this quilt. I make most of my baby/kid quilts in these bright happy colors. Good luck with the house on both ends.
Pat

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Mari! I've been thinking about you, wondering how it was going. I'm praying and know that everything will work out perfectly. Try to keep the stress at bay and go with the flow. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne

piecefulwendy said...

I just watched a movie last night about a couple trying to sell their home and buy another. I can imagine it's a challenge to find housing in another city while trying to sell yours at home. I'd get frustrated too if I wanted to sew and kept having a showing! Love the quilt with all those bright colors! I would be with you and cut those strips short; I've learned that the hard way too. Hope your housing situation resolves soon!

Louise said...

Gosh, this is beautiful! So bright and happy and swirly :)

Laura said...

Love this quilt! I am not a fan of pink, but this quilt is so energetic, colorful and fun! I could learn about color from your daughter!

Kate @ Smiles From Kate said...

Your quilt is certainly bright and beautiful, and very well loved by the sounds of it, and I agree it would make two great children’s quilts. Moving house is one of the most stressful things you do apparently on top of which you compounded it by changing area. I hope you have good news on the house and everything is settled soon, then you can get back to what’s important, sewing!

Bernie Kringel said...

Oh HONEY!! That is sooooo cute.
I have missed you! I figured there was just too much going on. Moving is such a pain. Hope someone falls in love with your house soon and gives you a fantastic offer.
Love this quilt. I think about paper piecing and firstly, it confuses my addled brain. Secondly, I cannot handle the thought of picking off all those paper bits on the back (I can be so lazy Mari!) It seems big for a dorm size bed. Couldn't she now use it on a full size guest bed? It is so cheerful and bold. I love all the color.
I am debating whether I should make a quilt for Julia's dorm room. Would I even get it done by September? I am in the middle of a wedding gift quilt and a memory quilt which I feel like I should finish first. Hmmm.... decisions, decisions.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Its a great quilt!! and so colorful!!

Jayne said...

Oh the things we did in our early quilting adventures! Tracing each block template might just be the craziest! Worth it in the end though. A beautiful and bright quilt. I never would have thought about cutting it into smaller quilts, but what a great idea actually! Just the fact that the quilt lives on with grandchildren using it is enough for me!
House hunting is no joke these days! If you aren't ready to make an offer the second you see a home you like, you most likely will not get it. It's mind blowing to me!! I hope you find one soon!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

Thanks for sharing that gorgeous quilt, Mari! It's so happy! Best of luck with both house selling and house hunting for the new one. Hope it all gets resolved soon!

Preeti said...

Too much color??? I think it is just the right amount of color!!! Love it. Thank you for sharing it because this is the first time I am seeing it. Such a celebration of color. Love it. Yes I am saying it again.

Lisa J. said...

I know what you mean about the business of life. I'm having a hard time with getting in enough of my own sewing time...busy with babysitting (right now we are looking after the grand kids while my daughter in law is having surgery, I took off two days from work, Dwight jus the one.) and we will have been to the big city three weekends in a row.Our niece is getting married this Saturday. So all in all busy. Love the quilt and I can see why your daughter still loves it. Good luck with the move.

Jo said...

Good luck with buying. Please don't cut it.....

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

That is one gorgeous quilt! And loads of luck with the house looking/buying,etc.

Kate said...

Definitely bright and bold, perfect for a college dorm. Hope you get the house in Baltimore and have a buyer for your current abode.

grammajudyb said...

It’s a great quilt! I still have trouble with getting my brain wrapped around paper piecing!
Good luck on the house hunting!

Betty the quilter said...

Such a happy quilt. Love everything thing about it. So sorry about the cutting error, been there, done that, have the t-shirt. LOL! Just cut more & go on. They are still making fabric......at least last time I checked. Quilt on.
Betty the quilter.

Danice G said...

Hoping your house sells soon. The quilt is really colorful and pretty.