This project has been a long time coming. I dragged this post from drafts dated way back in January 2019. Here is this quilt's story as it was written piece by piece so the tenses are all over the place because I have added bits here and there:
Starting a new quilt is always exciting. My girls get the same feeling when they choose a new reading book. For me, it starts with looking at what fabric I already have to use up. I had a lot of green but then it is my favourite colour.
There was fabric from my cameleon summer dress; sixteen fat quarters I bought at a NEC craft trade show for £1 each in 2016; donated fabric from my friend Michelle and various other tit bits I had gathered along the way.
The design I chose was from a magazine which I have since lost during our house move but I started cutting this in January 2019 and luckily had the foresight to make card templates. I had previously supported my friend along in making this design for her first quilt so I knew it would look pleasing.
With a little more quiet cutting here and there I only needed another three fat quarters to make the required amount. The triangle feature pieces were cut from navy quilt sashing offcuts and a little more from the magic 'Michelle Lockdown bag'
In my mind it was going to be a lighter weight quilt for our bed because the one we have is very heavy. It turns out our new house is so warm we don't really need a quilt in the summer at all so I kind of lost the impetuous to complete it.
The topper came together very quickly making a generous double bed size in November 2020. I remember sewing it altogether while the heating engineer commissioned our hot water system at the farmhouse. Next I had to decide how to back it and quilt it.
By January 2021 we were back in lockdown. I asked if I could use the old school rooms in the village to spread out my quilt. The old school is used as a village hall and is opposite our house. The girls were at home so I knew I would have some helpers, albeit very cold helpers. I remember this day as being so very very bitter that I could hardly use my fingers to put in the safety pins. The girls wore gloves and brought a flask of hot chocolate with them.
Fast forward to June 2021 and the quilt was still folded up, all sandwiched but not sewn. Then my nephew's wedding plans got back on track and I decided to make it for their wedding present. They have a little camper van which they are going on their honeymoon with because they can't go abroad. Unfortunately of late I have had a bout of tennis elbow meaning I could not hand quilt it together. For one determined day, I machine quilted the whole lot, made a date plate and added a binding.
The binding was attached right side to right side for the first machine pass on straight stitch then folded to the reverse of the quilt and sewed with a zigzag which gives a little room for error but makes a nice flat border.
In my mind it has several 'camping' uses: an extra layer on chilly nights, a beach blanket, a picnic rug, a lap blanket or for simply wrapping round a couple's shoulders for drinking beers in deckchairs.
I put it on our bed to spread it out and remove the safety pins.
For sure it would have been better hand quilted but it just wasn't to be and I think they will really like it. The happy, but slightly stressed-covid-wedding-planning-couple are coming to eat with us tonight so the quilt is wrapped with a hessian tie all ready to go.
That is the story of the Live green, Love green quilt.
Thanks for dropping by. I hope this story shows that if you have a long lost half made quilt, there is a chance that it might make it to completion one day.
Jo xxxxx
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