For now I have a few fun pics I wanted to show you for inspiration. Have you ever made a quilt as a thank you gift? I know you have! I have been working on a special quilt for quite a while now, and this week we finally presented it to its owner.
Julie Beck has served as the General President of the Relief Society for the past five years. This is an organization of women in my church, and that was a BIG job. We wanted to honor her and thank her with a quilt when she was released. She was in my ward (local church unit) and many of her friends and neighbors worked on this project. It was a challenge to do, because there was no pattern. Each quilter designed her own block and picked her own fabrics, so it was a bit tricky to get it to come together in the end.
All of the blocks are appliquéd and represent a part of her service. Here is a picture of the quilt with Julie and I. There were so many women who worked on this project. Some did the appliqué and some worked on lettering and designing, some did embroidery and some on putting it together and binding.
We decided to use a toile print for the sashing to give it a traditional feel. But the print did not work against each block, so adding the white sashing gave it some "space." Then we needed a way to add contrast to each block since they were all different values. A narrow blue folded piping was sewn around each block (my daughter, Talia did that part).
I did the appliqué on the center block. The letters were easier than I thought they would be. (Thank you, Appli-Glue!) On the smaller ones I used a bit of embroidery for the narrow lines. I wanted you to see the quilting on this. Isn't it great? My niece, Maika quilted it and did a beautiful job!
The day after the presentation, we had a luncheon with all the quilters and Julie. She brought this quilt top for us to see. It was pieced by her 92 year old uncle. His wife is in a rest home, and he works on quilts every day. It gives him something useful to do. He gives them to his family and to charity.
Have you ever made a commemorative quilt? Did you do it with a group? What challenges did you find in working on a group project?
7 comments:
Jill, that turned out quite amazing! The quilt is just beautiful. Your applique looks amazing, and what a great idea for the lettering! I have done several of these group quilts with my family and church members. The challenge I always run into is color coordination, and scale differences. It is so much easier when everyone has a focus with a theme of color or subject. It is also important for us to see the idea of the finished project proposal so that we can scale our design to fit within it. I love the way these types of quilts turn out. It is truly beautiful and unique when you see everybody's ideas come to life in a unique quilt for someone else. Hugs, -Cori
What a wonderful quilt to make for Julie Beck! I'd love to make a RS Logo - you should do a tutorial or a pattern just for that. I am excited to see more projects when you are able to show us. Are you going to Market in Portland this spring???
Wow! So awesome. What a cool idea. I'm loving the quilting and those letters that you appliqued/embroidered!
The quilt turned out beautifully. I know she will treasure it for years. Now that is a awesome quilt that the 93 year old gentleman made. What a creative and busy soul he must be.
Jill, the quilt turned out beautiful! I'm sure Sister Beck absolutely loves it! I agree with Mary, I would love to have a tutorial or pattern so I could make the Relief Society Logo as a wall hanging! Such beautiful work! Hugs!
I love your quilt- the white border and blue piping are perfect! I'm sure Sister Beck loved it! I was asked to do a quilt layout for the 150th anniversary of our city. Thirty-plus women were asked to create blocks representing the first homes in our community. We gave them a color card that had sky, ground, greenery colors and they chose their own fabric. The variety (embroidery, appliqué, texture magic, etc.) made it awesome! I was grateful to be part of something so fun and creative!
Jill: What a fabulous RSoc quilt. thanks for sharing it.
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