Progress on Jen T's Wedding Quilt

Several posts back, I had a picture of various fabrics in consideration for Jen's wedding quilt. After several discussions, samples of little bits of fabrics, a catalog picture of something both Jen and Tim liked, and input from trusted friend Cristina, the Thompson-Peters quilt is underway. Because of the whole green/blue issue, this quilt will be reversible with Tim's side being primarily blues and Jen's side focused around this one green she loves so much. All the fabrics were organized and the layout was planned. Each side uses 8 fabrics, and each one of those fabrics was cut into 22 8" squares. Batting was also cut into 8" squares. Then each one of the 168 squares was quilted. Now, everything has to be sewn together. All squares on Tim's side will be connected with navy blue, all on Jen's side with her green. I'm still undecided about the binding. The layout is 12 by 14, and the quilt will be 96" x 112".

These pictures give an idea of how the 2 sides of the quilt will look. Click on the bottom picture to see some of the detail with the quilting. This project is a fun one to work on and will definitely be completed before the August 30 wedding.

Chris H's Trip Around the World

Isn't it spectacular? These vibrant colors fit into the house beautifully. Chris is using this quilt as a wall hanging. Click on the quilt to see some the detail of some of these great fabrics. 55" x 75"

Trendy Nails Quilt

There's a nail salon at the Garden Market in Western Springs that I frequent. Patti is the owner/manager - she and her family are charming people. This salon has a facial room which Patti has just redecorated, and this quilt was made for that room. Getting a facial is relaxing. This quilt is meant to help that process and soothe the soul. The pattern is the "Trip Around the World" referred to in a previous post. Click on the quilt to see the detail of these beautiful fabrics. 50" x 70"

YIKES! My Parents Have Been Married 60 Years!

Although their actual anniversary was yesterday, today they are taking the entire family to The Barn in Burbank, IL, for dinner. Even niece Jen is flying in from NYC. And this is their treat. What a far cry from childhood days when we'd go to a restaurant after church and get a limit on what we could order ($.99 was the limit for many years, excluding the drink). They have also listed their house and are preparing for a move into an Active Senior community. Hard to imagine 60 years of marriage... Here they are in Springfield, looking at Dad's brick in the World War II Memorial.

Trips Around the World

The first quilt pattern I ever did was Eleanor Burns's Trip Around the World. I love that design and made over 40 of them in my early years of quilting. Neighbor Cristina wants to teach her friend Catya to quilt, and I suggested that they both do a "Trip Around the World." Although Cris has made several quilts, she's never done this pattern. Cris and Catya chose their 6 fabrics, ranging from light to dark. This design is a variation of the Amish Sunshine and Shadow pattern.

Look at the web site Gallery for an album of quilts featuring this design. The fabric choices of Cristina and Catya inspired me, and I am going to do a "Trip" along with them. So is Chris H. Here are our fabrics. First, Cristina's, then Catya's, then mine, and then Chris H's.

Geezer Trip to Springfield

Monday, June 30, my parents and the Sheehan grandsons drove to Springfield with John and me. On the way down and back we listened to Garrison Keilor's Joke CD's, which truly does entertain ages 9 (Brandon) to 83 (my dad). This trip was Ryan's request - we did this 2 years ago, and this time Brandon came with us. Visiting the Springfield Cemetery was Monday afternoon's highlight. For the 2nd time we found the memorial brick that my siblings and I got for Dad. After visiting the WWII Memorial, the VietNam Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and Lincoln's Tomb, we also found the Accordion gravestone belonging to Roy Bertelli. The highlight of Tuesday was the visit to the Lincoln Museum, a place that enchanted all 6 of us for almost 2 hours. Click on the posted pictures to see some of the detail.

Molly's Quilt

Niece Molly has moved to South Carolina. For the first time ever John and I travelled there with Molly's parents for Thanksgiving last November. Molly and Mark hosted the dinner and fried a turkey and were wonderful hosts. We had a ball. This quilt is from fabrics that Molly chose that weekend when we went shopping. The design is mine. It's whimsical and colorful. And it only took 7 months. See the May 1, 2008 entry for some of the struggling involved. 94" by 114" (This doesn't bode well for niece Jennifer's Quilt - she's getting married in 7 weeks...)

Honoring Corinne's Mom

Friend Corinne's mom, Irene Pleto, died last December. She was the same age as my mom is. Corinne brought over her mom's sweatshirts and t-shirts, and we decided to do 2 quilts - one for Corinne and one for her sister Dena. Cor chose the layout, and the result (only one is finished) is a colorful quilt that gently prods fond memories of various trips and events.

Chris's June Project

John's sister Chris teaches at Hinsdale Central. She celebrated the end of her school year by doing a wall hanging for the second floor of her home. This 39" by 76" quilt hangs nicely, and the colors of these fabrics highlight the Carribbean paint colors throughout the house. She was pleased with the results, and I'm amazed at how others can take fabrics from my stash and do such interesting things with them!

The Isherwood Hockey Quilt - and a few other things

Michelle Isherwood is one cagy mom. She gave me her son Anthony's hockey jerseys almost a year ago in preparation for his 18th birthday this month. For some of the jerseys she bought duplicates so that her son wouldn't miss the jerseys she gave me. This quilt is 70" x 90" and - I think - very handsome. The border colors are his Montini HS school colors. Click on the quilt to see some of the details of Anthony's jerseys.

Michelle has a younger son Adam, and she's begun saving his t-shirts. I'm thankful her younger son isn't a hockey player. Hockey jerseys make for very heavy quilts. This quilt only took about 30 hours, but I couldn't work on it for much more than 2 hours at a time. This one will make the next t-shirt quilt seem like a snap.

Hard to believe it's Friday, June 13th. Lots of fun White celebrations are coming up - my mom's 80th, my dad's 83rd, my parents' 60th anniversary, Jen Thompson's shower, and Jen's wedding August 30. Currently there are 3 "life celebration" quilts in my studio. Niece's Molly's Housewarming quilt and Jen Thompson's wedding quilt are providing a nice balance to these 3 sad commissions.

A word about Jen's wedding quilt. She and Tim are having a hard time deciding on a color palate. There's a previous post with a stack of fabrics that are being considered. The answer is - and this is genius I must admit - a reversible quilt. Tim knows he wants blues, navy, and neutrals on one side. Jen wants greens, blues and neutrals for the other. I recently met Tim when my sister Paula and I went to Manhattan to see Jen in a dance gala (is she ever terrific!). I've wondered what kind of man could measure up to Jen. Tim is great - handsome, nice, smart, generous. Now I'm really psyched about their quilt!