Quilts and afghans and costumes, oh my

I've been busy this summer. I admit, I tend to vegitate in the long, hot summer months between the fall and the spring semesters, but this year I was an active little thing and got all sorts of things done. :) I'm rather proud of myself and I'm sure this is a sign of new found maturity (which I hope will eventually wear off because, damn I'm tired.)

I've always loved quilts and over the years I've had an on-again/off-again relationship with them. I have stacks of quilt books, patterns, fabric and equipment. I've tried my hand at wedding rings quilts, around the world quilts and even a jigsaw puzzle quilt. I've collected patterns with every intention of making them, only to get bored, frustrated and/or intimidated before I could finish them, all of which made the choice of this year's xmas gifts particularly amusing. The fact that I am well on my way to fulfilling that list is impressive, to say the least.

I have been told that a proper log cabin quilt consists of a light side, a dark side and a center, preferably red. The light side represents joy, laughter, peace, goodwill. Basically, the good things in life. The dark side represents anger, grief, hardship, hate; the things that made us appreciate the good things all that much more. The red center is supposed to represent the hearth fire, the warmth at the center of home, family and life.



This quilt is an anniversary gift for a friend of mine, on the occasion of her fifth wedding anniversary. Admittedly, that technically isn't until next March, but I figured I better get it done now while the getting was good. I still have to add the borders (a red one and a green one) and the backing, obviously, but for now it is looking very nice on my wall, folded in half, obviously.







This quilt, the pattern is called Bento Box, is for this same friend. I had originally intended the log cabin to be for her and picked both the pattern and the fabric with her and her husband in mind. Of course, once I got it made, I realized that while it was a nice compromise between the two, it had very little of my friend about it and one thing I hate about having married and/or childed friends, especially women, is how much of their own interests and personalities get lost along the way. I'm perfectly happy to make a gift for the "B's" but I will always include a gift for my friend "A".



This is the quilt that started it all. Nearly two summers ago, my friend asked me to make her daughter a quilt, but life got in the way and it wasn't until this year that I had the energy, the time or even the interest in taking up such a large project. I'm glad I did, of course, but it's rather bittersweet. In truth, all these quilts are. Every time I see them, I think about how much my mom would have enjoyed them and how proud she would have been.



And last but not least, Around the world, one of my favorite blocks.

These quilts will be hanging on the wall for the next couple weeks/months, and then I will start taking them down to back and quilt, before giving them over sometime over the holidays. I already know I will miss them and have to stop myself from thinking about what other quilt tops I can make, with the express purpose of hanging them on the wall. :)

next post - afghans