Custom Quilts and Big Dreams
Happy Friday friends!
I thought I’d pop in quickly and show you a couple of recent custom quilt finishes. In my last post I shared some custom memory quilts I was honored to make and I have another one to show you today. Plus a darling custom whole cloth quilt that I wish I was keeping.
My Etsy shop allows people from all over the world to find me, which truth be told is hard for me to wrap my brain around. Anyway, I was contacted by a sweet gal in Maryland who asked me to make a custom quilt using her husband’s late Grandmother’s clothing. Of course I said I would be happy to help and we made a plan, determined total costs and I got to work. When the package arrived I was surprised to see a bunch of knit sweaters. While I try to explain every step of the process before, during and after the project, I never know exactly what clothing, blankets or other materials someone is sending and I’m often surprised when I open the package. This time was no exception. The sweaters posed a fun challenge and I actually really love the texture and weight they offer in the finished quilt.
The temperature outside today is a balmy 25 degrees so indoor photos were a must! You also get a bit of my holiday decor thrown in just for fun 🙂
Both of these photos show some of the knit sweaters and the fun texture they provide. I chose to keep the quilting simple and stitched in the ditch around each block twice. I was hoping this would make the blocks “puff” up a bit and it did exactly what I’d hoped. I did some other simple straight line quilting in the borders and machine stitched the binding down. Before you throw rotten tomatoes at me let me explain that last bit. I always machine stitch my binding down on quilts that I know will be used and washed frequently. My own children love their quilts and when they were younger that meant they needed to be washed. A LOT. I personally found that hand binding did not hold up to that kind of love and attention so I choose to machine bind if I know the quilt is headed for a similar fate.
All said and done I am happy with the quilt and I can’t wait for my client to use and love it for many years!
Here are some links in case you’d like to check out some of the materials I used. It’s a bit hard to see some of the fabric on the border/backing on my inside photos so these links might help. I stuck with a very light neutral palette since there was so much color and texture in the blocks themselves.
My next project to share is an adorable modern whole cloth quilt. What is a whole cloth quilt you ask? It’s exactly what it sounds like. It is made of whole pieces of fabric, not pieced blocks. The client who ordered this quilt is from NYC. My brain instantly went to those dumb Pace Picante Sauce commercials from several years ago. NEW. YORK. CITY.
Anyway,
Look at those adorable little trees. I’m not sure they’re trees exactly but that’s what I’m calling them. The gal who ordered this quilt wanted it to match her nursery decor so we worked together on fabric choices and this is what we came up with. Truth be told I’m kicking myself for not ordering more of the trees and polka dot fabrics! They are both In House prints from Hawthorne Threads.
http://www.hawthornethreads.com/
The backing is Kona Navy. One of my very favorites. Again I machine quilted and bound this one opting for a simple straight line of stitching about 2 inches apart. Overall I love this quilt and may or may not think of an excuse to make a second one just for me 🙂
Every single time I make a custom quilt I have to stop and pinch myself. Am I really making quilts for a living, albeit a very small living but a living nonetheless?! I’ve mentioned before that I am a big believer in manifesting what we want and need in our lives. In this case the Universe has been listening, as she often does. I am so blessed and so very grateful to share my dreams and talents with this world through my tiny baby Etsy shop and this little blog. Thank you Universe!
Until next time!
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