Sunday, February 20, 2011

A family is a patchwork of LOVE...

A family stitched together with love, seldom unravels...

A quilt is something you make to keep someone you love...Warm!

Families are like quilts, stitched together one piece at a time...

And so it goes, there never seems to be an end to all the clever sayings tying quilting and families together. And nowhere is this more obvious than the WEDDING QUILT. It has been my pleasure and good fortune to complete many beautiful quilts. But none are more beautiful (and intimidating) than wedding quilts. Here are a few pictures to prove my point. This first quilt was pieced by my wife (Janice) for our daughter (Kim) and her new husband (Rod)...

The colors and style matched their new home's decor.



This next one was pieced by a good friend (Dixie) for her daughter's wedding.




This quilt was commissioned by a good friend (Carol) for her granddaughters wedding. It is a wholecloth quilt, which means there is NO piecing. Just 3 layers of whole cloth with no seams. The top is white tricot, the middle is white batting, and the backing is white minky. A bit slippery and stretchy until I got it stabilized on the frame, but then it was awesome to quilt on.


It was an LDS temple wedding so I placed a picture of the Boise Temple in the center.


You can't have a wedding quilt without hearts, can you?


A spiral without end seemed appropriate...


Crosshatching represents the family connected together. Swags in the border remind us of life's ups and downs, and they never end.


And, of course, an ever enlarging family circle... 


This next quilt is a Candlewick style, made by another friend (a different Carol) for her sons wedding. She purchased the top after the candlewicking had been completed. The quilting pattern was premarked so all I had to do was follow the pattern. 
I soon observed the marks were not too accurate, so I then considered them just "suggestions" and only followed them when I felt like it.


The candlewicking really creates a special look and three dimentional feel... 



In the end, wedding quilts are like all others, painstakingly created to give warmth and joy, and one of the ultimate expressions of love. And  I love working on them, intimidating or not...

4 comments:

  1. Candle-whating?! It's like you're speaking Arabic. But fabulous!!

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  2. This post was fantastic. Kim and Rod's quilt is beautiful and I loved the offset flower squares --made it very interesting. I'm a big fan of whole cloth quilts and both are beautiful. I'm sure the bride and groom will cherish the stitches "messages". Question about the candlewicking--it looks harder to quilt around/over and does it hold up as well over the years as a "flat stitched" quilt? Curious. As always--great work!!

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  3. Holy WOW! Did you freehand that temple? Also wondering if there is a "you made it to 15 years!" wedding quilt in the works for a certain someone.

    Amazing as always!

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  4. I am so excited to be able to see your quilts! You are so talented! I love the candlewicking look, I have never seen it before. Kim's quilt is beautiful too. I think I better start saving up to buy one of your amazing heirlooms. I love the emphasis on the quilting. Maybe next time we are in Boise I can buy a template from you and get a tour of your quilting room :). Happy Quilting!

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