2011: The Year of the Quilt

Dear Shayne,

I hereby dub 2011 The Year of the Quilt. And that's not a bad year, is it? ;)

In the past year, I've made quilts for the twins (technically 2010, but within the past 12 months...), a quilt for my mom-in-law, and a group-made quilt for a good friend's baby.

And now... a quilt I made for my cousin:


This past year has been a rough one for her, so I thought she could use a quilt (who couldn't, really?)

This is the first time I've bought a "collection" of fabrics to make into a quilt. These were by Moda and the collection is called "Prayer Flag," but I can't find it on their site now. I did that to make things easier, but I ended augmenting the selection with fabrics from my stash (of course).

Once again, I had it machine quilted at New Pieces Quilt Shop in Berkeley. I selected a heart pattern and they had an awesome variegated thread that matched the colors in the quilt beautifully (click to see it close up):


It looked especially great on the back:


For signing the quilt, I am currently hooked on the permanent fabric markers. I guess the embroidery is nicer, but by the time I feel like I am "done" with a quilt, the last thing I want to do is spend several more hours embroidering it.

So for this one, I just signed it with the marker:


I have already run it through the washing machine and dryer and it didn't come off, so I have faith that it will last for quite some time.

I took a bit of a risk with that binding -- I was nervous about the polka dot fabric -- but I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

I've got two more quilts currently brewing in my mind, so you can expect to see more before the year is over... perhaps I'll even make one for myself! (What a concept, eh?)

love,
kelly