Bloggers Quilt Festival – 2009

My First 65 Years Quilt – made during the winter of 2008-2009 to recognize reaching my 65th Birthday in February. I have blogged about this quilt, both during the making of it and just recently when it received a blue ribbon at our September, 2009 Quilt Show. You could say that I kind of got caught up in it – perhaps because it was somewhat time consuming. It measures 68 X 68 and has 1024 9 patch units that finish to 1 1⁄2″. There are 954 alternating 1 1⁄2″ squares…everything is set on point as that is one of my favorite ways to position blocks. For the past 17-18 years I have been “accumulating” reproduction/conversational prints. These include pieces from the 1992 collection of “Discover America” by Marcus which was introduced during the 500th Anniversary of Columbus’ voyage to the New World. Other prints are direct reproductions from late 1800 fabric prints which were popular…such as keys, bugs, dogs, tea cups, scissors, bicycles, horses, etc. They were called “conversational” prints at the time in hopes that by their very nature, they would inspire a topic of conversation in a Victorian parlor. I really learned more about careful piecing and assembly on this quilt due to the small scale of the blocks. It took more time, but the attention to how I pressed each individual row and then pinned row to row as I sewed everything together gave me a more accurate overall quilt. I used a striped woven fabric for the binding and was not sure this was the right choice at the time. However, during a workshop with Karen Witt from Reproduction Quilts she commented that it was an appropriate binding considering the reproduction time frame of the piece. Whew! This quilt was a journey down memory lane for as I chose fabrics to use from years past. I thought about all the remarkable moments in my first 65 years of life with each little square that was pieced.My favorite comment from a total stranger at our Quilt Show? – She simply looked at me, stated “You are crazy” and walked away…

100% cotton, bamboo batting and machine quilted on my Bernina 440QE with 100% silk thread.

Thank you for visiting and I would love to read any comment you might leave – even if you think – I am crazy! I look forward to visiting your wonderful quilts too – so much inspiration!

Pat