Saturday, December 22, 2012

~ A Most Special Gift ~


Today is a most special day for a most special lady...my mother. Happy Birthday, Mom! My sister, Rene', believes strongly in celebrating all milestone birthdays (any birthday ending in a five or zero) in a BIG way. So to honor our mom's milestone birthday, we decided to make her a quilt...together. And I am so excited to finally be able to share it!!



 We started our planning this past summer during our Gruber's retreat. Even though I blamed gave credit to Rene' for coming up with the idea of a Great Granny Square quilt, it was our good friend Doris's idea (God bless her). It was a perfect choice!! After all, our mother recently became a Great Grandmother, but has also been a great grandmother and a great mother!!

We spent much time talking, planning, choosing the perfect fabric, stressing...

...for me, mainly stressing. So much, in fact, I was very careful to follow the directions
TO . A . T!!!
 In fact, the tutorial never left my side.



My Frustration was also nearby to ensure I did not miss a step.



As I completed each block, I would send a pic to Rene' through Instagram. Here are a couple of my blocks...





I must say, our IG friends were awesome in cheering us on during the making of this quilt...thank you!!

I played around with the layout of my blocks.

Not a great picture...my "design wall" is now located behind my bedroom door :(

I even labeled each block with a piece of painters tape so I wouldn't lose my place. As I have mentioned frequently, I am directionally challenged.



After sewing my two columns together, I shipped it to Rene' to finish piecing the top with her blocks. She then pieced the back, basted the quilt, and sent it back to me to be quilted. Yikes!!




My Frustration must have realized that I was a nervous wreck, seriously stressing, panic ridden really focused on the quilting, because he stayed as far away from me as he could that day (yes, I cranked this baby out in one day...not recommended).


We were able to get a couple of pictures of the two of us with the unfinished quilt when Rene' and her family made a quick stop over after an FSU game.


Rene' took care of the binding and a most wonderful photo shoot of the finished quilt.




Quilt Stats:
 finished size 58"x72
 pattern used: great granny square blocks
pieced by me and Rene', quilted by me
 fabric used Top: Kate Spain Serenade and Kona White, Backing: Rock n Romance by Pat Bravo (Rebel Cheri Whispers) , Binding: Kate Spain Fandango.
What a great time we had making this quilt!! I can't think of a better gift to give our mother, who has been such a big supporter of our quilting journey.
I can't wait to see the finished quilt in a few days...and to get a picture of the birthday girl with her birthday quilt!!

Be sure to check out Rene's blog and her post about our special quilty gift!

I'm linking up with AmandaJean and Sarah.

Happy Birthday, Mom!! We love you (most)!!!

~ Michelle ~
(whew)

12 comments:

  1. Just lovely. I'm sure your Mom will be thrilled.

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  2. It turned out so pretty! Great job!

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  3. Your quilt is stunning! What a truly lovely gift!

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  4. Gorgeous. I love the fabrics you chose. What a lucky mom, grandma, great grandma she is. (Wish some of the generations after me learned to sew! I'll never get a gift like this, darn it.)

    Congrats on finishing a great granny quilt too. Mine is still minus a few blocks - a UFO.

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  5. I love your granny square quilt. I am sure your mom will treasure this quilt.

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  6. :-)

    That looks FABULOUS! I so remember that day in Gruber's, who knew what my little suggestion would lead to. It looks great, the fabrics are wonderful, your quilting is awesome-- and again, I am jealous that you have a sister that shares your hobby. (Mine is a scrapbooker--she does not sew.)

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  7. What a beautiful quilt! I have started one of these, 5 granny squares are done so far. Doris is right, you are blessed to have a sister who shares your love of quilting. Your mom will be so happy when she recieves this!

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  8. It's really wonderful, Michelle!!! Congrats to you and Rene on such a fantastic finish. Such a wonderful gift for your momma!

    Thanks for linking up to finish it up Friday!

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  9. Oh, my gosh! What a great quilt! It's so cool that you guys figured out how to do this together. It is so neat how you sent it back and forth. It is so beautiful, too!

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  10. Beautiful fabric design. I found another fabric design which is Broadway Fabrics.

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