The quilted gift, Explosion of Teal Love, is finally finished. And yes, I realize that the photo here doesn’t show the quilt in all of its Teal Glory. But we have had a week of wind and rain and grey days and looking ahead I see we have another week of the same. The teal and fushia colors on this quilt look quite garish surrounded by grey.
This quilt was made for a friend that is receiving treatment for breast cancer. She is a little more than halfway though treatment, finished with chemo and on to radiation. I hope that this will be a gift of celebration for her and not a painful reminder of sorrow-filled months of terror and pain. Teal is her favorite color.
I used the Twister template from CS Designs and a fat stack of batik fat quarters, pieces from my stash and added a focus fabric to create this quilt. My stash is now almost entirely depleted of teals since I used them up to create the backing.
See? The grey skies do nothing for the stunning colors of this quilt.
I started this quilt in September, it has taken me this long to finish it because it has been very hard for me to let it go. As you quilters know, when we create a gift for someone there is usually a lot of prayer and thought that go into the fabric choices, the cutting, the stitching and the quilting. When the quilt is done the pray is over. It’s a very sad moment for me … it’s almost as if I am letting that person go at the same time.
The first time I made a quilt using this pattern I didn’t have a template, I made my own. It was given away as a raffle quilt gift to a local National Guard unit.
It’s a really fun quilt to make, full of surprises as you see the pattern come together. You start with a bunch of squares sewn together and then cut out more squares using the template and then sew the squares back together again.
Yeah, I know, I just made it sound confusing and complicated, but it really isn’t!
This pattern does, however, waste a bit of fabric because there are leftovers. But I just put those leftovers in a stack and make a miniature of the larger quilt.
I bought my template at Sister’s Fabric Shop in Chehalis or you can buy it online from the template maker.
Patriotic Pinwheels quilt, now at home with a soldier.
I feel your pain. I also feel your love. And, I took your lovely Sinai Christ tote/purse with me last week to my icon workshop to show off. Again. It was a big hit. The woman sitting next to me in the circle with which we began our work day (after eucharist) said that the story of our shared gifts made her cry with good tears. Isn’t that sweet?
Love you much.
Oh gorgeous! She will LOVE it – it will be an affirmation of life and joy for her.
I was just smiling yesterday at my “choir bag” that you sent me – definitely makes me feel loved
It’s a lovely prayer for your friend! And it’s not over. Every time she snuggles with it, she is surrounded by your love and blessings. Grace and peace to you both!