Monday 11 August 2014

Quilts and their Stories




When blogging about a finished quilt, one has to decide between telling the story behind the quilt (this one is the first of a series of graduation quilts, for lovely friends in our home church, which has mostly uni students. I made this one for someone who loves the beach, because these colours remind me of the seaside), or the making of the quilt (this one was inspired by the one in Sunday Morning Quilts), or the photography adventure that follows.

I made a deal with a lovely new friend of mine that I would help her baste the quilt I've been teaching her to make, then I could drive her home, if on the way, we could photograph some long-finished quilts, child-free!. But then the baby refused to go to sleep before we left, so we decided to bring her along for the ride, assuming she'd just fall asleep in the car. WRONG!
We got the pram out, hoping she'd either doze off or enjoy the last of the daylight, and BROKE the pram as we got it out of the car. Checking that it could still hold her safely, we put her down in it and went for a walk. We got these two photos above (rescued by heavy editing) before deciding that the very unimpressed baby and the dark were clear signs that it just.wasn't.working...


 

Thank goodness for my neighbour's trusty grey house! I snagged Tim just before he left for work, but it turns out this quilt is slightly bigger that the baby quilts I usually make and I struggled to get the whole quilt in the shot, without the presence of weeds, or baby, or aerials or gas fixtures. And there's really only so much a poor husband can hold up a big quilt while his creatively fussy wife orders, "Put your left hand up a bit, no, your other left. Face me a bit more. Higher!" before, his arms nearly fall off...



...and he walks away, taking the baby inside out of the cold. Isn't he good to me?


 So, I'm not sure when we're going to master the art of either taking the whole family out when everyone's happy AND the lighting is good, or getting away on my own when everyone's happy and the lighting is good, but at least I'm getting time to sew, right?


 So what story do you tell when you finish a quilt? And which one do you like to hear?

9 comments:

  1. Lovely finish ... I like to hear the funny story, which ever that may be. So many times I've been hampered by family needs, weather or I just plain run out of day light hours to get the "perfect pic" of my quilt finishes ... my pics of quilts never look as good as the quilt in real life!

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  2. What a lovely, fresh looking quilt - I may just have to go look at the book you mention!!

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  3. I love all the stories you tell about your quilts. And I love this quilt - the colours remind me so much of the sea and the beach - a place I associate with holidays, calm, good books, relaxing and precious time with family.

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  4. I love your quilt and your pix and your stories... and I love the pops of red and orange in this quilt! Would love to own this one myself. TFS!

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  5. Oh, and I found your lovely blog via In Color Order, as you are featured in today's favorites. :)

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  6. mmm.. I like all your stories, whatever they are about =) And, I think I need to make a quilt in this style for my nephew. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  7. Love the quilt. Simple pattern, great fabrics, the blue and green color choices are perfect! Say thank you to your husband for holding the quilt for photos.

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  8. Ha - I have a whole stack of quilts that need to be documented and taken out for a photo shoot. It's so hard to find the right setting, the perfect time of day for lighting, and a friend who is willing to be ordered about and won't complain about her arms falling off, all at the same time. And so, my stack of quilts keeps growing.... :)

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  9. That quilt is absolutely beautiful! It's good to know that I'm not the only one that has issues when it comes to taking pictures of my quilts. : )

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I so love your comments! I read all of them and reply when I can. If you don't hear back, I'm lost under a mound of scraps or outside jumping on the trampoline with the kids. Jodi. xx