And Then Comes the Favorite Part

Just a couple posts ago, I mentioned my least favorite part of quilting.  And I DO hate squaring up quilts.

But, really, I LOVE so much about quilting.  The excitement of choosing fabrics and patterns, the satisfaction in cutting and piecing together the colorful bits of fabric, the  joy in seeing the first block completed and knowing your vision is coming together: all of these things are wonderful things about quilting.

But stepping back after a last stitch and having a completed quilt?

Bliss.

I just finished Julia’s baptism quilt, named Julia’s Field of Blessings, last week right before the quilt show.  And I LOVE it.  (I always feel a bit…egotistic…writing so often how much I love what I make, but I really do love it!)

What you might not be able to tell from the big overall pictures of this quilt is that each of the flowers has a blessing written on it:

I gave each of the guests to Julia’s baptism a square of fabric and asked that they write Julia a message befitting the day. And they did so beautifully.

The squares sat in my sewing room for 2 years before they finally came out again, ready to be made into a quilt. In the intervening time, I spotted a quilt that would serve as my inspiration for the setting, and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I detailed that inspiration and some other thoughts on making this quilt in posts here, here and here.

I wanted to show the fun addition of a butterfly up close here.  I added 4 to the quilt top.  I almost went crazy and added dozens, but I think 4 is just enough.

I deliberated for what seemed like forever over each fabric combination. But it was so worth it!

I’ll admit Elena didn’t write her square, seen above, 2 years ago at the time of the baptism.  Somehow, I don’t think she could write that well then!    I let her do a square just a couple months ago when I pulled it out again.  She is *very* proud of her flower.

And OH, the joy with finishing the top! But, after staring at this quilt in progress on my design wall for what seemed like months, I was SO ready to be done, but not before having some fun with the back. And I dare say I love the back just as much as I love the front.

And yes, those flowers are my label, as you can see better here:

But to really finish this quilt, it needed quilting. I gave my Mom the simple idea of spirals for the quilt, and she ran with it, doing big spirals, small spirals, and also a super-cute loopy line:

I could have not asked for better quilting — it adds so much to the quilt.  My mom had told me she was planning on using gold thread, and I was incredibly skeptical, but I must admit the expert knew exactly what she was doing!  It goes SO well with ALL the colors in this quilt!  (and yes, she’s available to do the same beautiful work for your quilts!)

This quilt was truly a labor of love.  The best kind of quilt there is.