A few weeks ago, my friend Brianne came over for a last-minute end of summer hurrah. Our kids had a great time running around and playing, while we visited. She came bearing gifts!
Look at this beautiful quilt that she gave me as a belated birthday gift!!! I'm still in awe...I can't believe that she made me a quilt!
There are countless fabrics included...so many fun designs to look at. My daughter and I have had a lot of fun picking out our favorites. We have a LOT of favorites. Haha! This is the kind of quilt that you can sit under and admire for hours.
The pattern is
A Quilter's Palette, by
Rita of Red Pepper Quilts. Last fall Brianne and I each started a version of the quilt. We shared scraps and swapped fabrics to round out our blocks. It was fun to work on it together. (My quilt is still a WIP!) :)
I have enjoyed snuggling under this quilt more than I can say. I am blown away by her generosity. It also makes me want to be a better quilt gifter. (I know that's not a real word, but I'm sure that you know what I mean...)
Here's a peek at the backing and binding. Perfection! I had to chuckle, because I didn't realize it until I was writing this post that all of the detail photos that I took highlighted the two pink squares. Isn't that funny?
And, as if the quilt wasn't enough, she also made me a big pillow. It's 30" square and SO soft and comfy. I love the scrappiness of it! Isn't it beautiful??? Happy belated birthday, indeed! :) Many, many thanks go out to my friend Brianne!
Have you ever been on the receiving end of a special quilt? If so, I'd love to hear about it!
39 comments:
Wow, what a wonderful friend. That quilt is so cute!!! I just have to make a twin quilt to your birthday quilt because I just love it and what a great scrap buster.
What a beautiful quilt!!!
I'm sort of a recipient of a special quilt. My maternal grandmother made a bunch of bear claw blocks. Mother had them for years in her cedar chest. I took them apart and re-sewed them so they would lay flat. Then I set them together with one I made to have enough to finish the top. The ladies of Mom's quilting group quilted it and it makes me smile every time I get it out and look at it.
awwww ~ how very very sweet!!
My mom made a little boy doll for me when I was 8. Johnny was (is) so precious to me. 10 years ago, we majorly downsized, and while I didn't get rid of Johnny, he went into a box in storage. Mice got into the box and feasted on him. My heart just broke. (just remembering how I felt makes me tear up right now) I was about to toss him in the fire (where I'd already tossed my wedding veil and flowers without shedding a tear) My husband told me to keep him, that we could maybe fix him some day, and he put him back in storage, but in a plastic tub. Unbeknownst to me, he took the doll to my mom, who totally restored him. And Johnny was my Christmas gift again :-) (if you want to see the post about it, it's here http://pursuingjoy.blogspot.com/2011/12/baby-come-back.html )
More recently I did a mini mini swap with a blogging friend (that i've never met...) in Germany, and what she made me was so thoughtful and absolutely perfect. Even though it was a swap, it was still a gift, and quite possibly the second most thoughtful I've ever received. The first, of course, being Johnny, reborn. (that one is here: http://pursuingjoy.blogspot.com/2016/02/gift-from-abroad.html
Thanks for the walk down memory lane. I hope you spend many glorious hours snuggled under your precious gift ~ Tracy
I've been sewing since 6th grade (some 50 + yrs) but never had found a desire to quilt until recently! About 2 yrs ago, a local quilter in my hometown made 2 quilts for my fraternal twins & surprised me with them! I was flabbergasted by her generosity and impressed by her use of machine quilting. I started with simple "free" designs bc I am for the most part a self taught seamstress. I have graduated to the Bloom Quilt by Riley Blake Designs (Lori Holt's wonderful design) but am hand stitching the whole thing, because I am on an extended trip away from my sewing machine.
I enjoy this a lot!
What a wonderful gift. You are one lucky lady.
Quilty gifts are the best! I have received a wall mini and a handful of pincushions from friends. I treasure them all!
What a wonderful surprise. I can imagine hours and hours of reading, napping, resting, relaxing.......
Such a wonderful gift. I love the pinwheels in the sashing.
Awesome! both quilt and pillow! Good job, Brianne. I LOVE pink and am glad that you do too! :)
Those corner pinwheels are so so cute.
That is so sweet! I appreciate handmade gifts so much. What a wonderful gift!
You have such a generous friend. The quilt is simply stunning. I also have one of these in progress tucked away, I need to get it out and get going again. x
Such a wonderful gift. This makes me want to make one for myself. I do like the pinwheels in the sashing. Clever idea to use up scraps.
It's beautiful. I see why you love your quilt. So thoughtful. My children surprised me on Mother's Day a couple of years ago. I thought they were just getting nerdy (meant as compliment) when they started attending comiCon. But my daughter made signature blocks and they'd been PAYING to stand in line and get all the Star Trek autographs. It's a real beauty. She stretched her skills with paper pieced Star Trek shirts and appliquéd insignias. I can't say how I much I love it, and my silly kids. It's really priceless!
I have gifted quilts to others and love that I can share my talent. I don't have any quilt friends, so I haven't been gifted a quilt, but I've been gifted other things. I wanted to ask about the pillow, is it quilted on both sides or is it in an envelope cover? Thank you!
I have gifted quilts to others and love that I can share my talent. I don't have any quilt friends, so I haven't been gifted a quilt, but I've been gifted other things. I wanted to ask about the pillow, is it quilted on both sides or is it in an envelope cover? Thank you!
What a beautiful quilt and pillow and what a wonderful friend. Great job Brianne. No, unfortunately, I have not because I think people think because I quilt or sew that's the last thing I would want which is actually the opposite, but that's okay. My good friend and I have finally decided the only gifts we are exchanging are handmade so I have received some beautiful embroidered things from her.
You have a VERY special friend, Amanda Jean! You're so-o fortunate! I've never received a quilt from someone else, likely because I've been making quilts for more than 30 years and others think I don't need another one. However, I've been given fat quarters! (ha, ha). It's great that you're using your new quilt already... a special memory for sure.
What a thoughtful and beautiful (and useful!) gift. My MiL is the one who got me into quilting, and though I've been quilting quite a while, she still makes my kids very special quilts. They're the kind of quilts I'll pull out for my grandkids one day. They are far and few between and that's what makes them so special.
Beautiful! I received a quilt once from a friend, and I sobbed in gratitude. I don't think people think to give quilts to quilters, but it was one of the best gifts I've ever received because I know how much time and love went into making it. That friend is a keeper!
It's so funny you should post this because I was thinking how infrequently I give the knit or quilt FOs I have to my loved ones who knit or quilt themselves. I wonder if I worry that those folks will notice any imperfections whereas the average bear might not see them at all. Self-doubt, I suppose.
I love how generously Brianne gave and how graciously you received.
Brianne is definitely kind, generous and talented! What a special gift.
What a sweet generous gift!! Best quilty gift ever was my pillow from you! I'm pretty sure if you need to be a better gifter, then, well, we ALL need to be better gifter, you set the bar high already! Generosity with quilts is so so lovely!
You are very lucky...for such a great friend and a talented one ;) ! They are both fabulous!
What a wonderful gift and so beautiful! I am inspired to dig into my neglected scrap tote!
What lovely gifts! I think that we sometimes forget that quilters might like to be given a quilt. I'm trying to think back, but I think the only quilt I've been given was one from my grandma and aunts for my fifth birthday. It has always been treasure, but maybe even more so now that I am a quilter.
Love the quilt. I might need to add that one to my list!!
When I was first married, my mother gave me a signature block quilt that her mother had done with her friends. As children, this quilt got heavy use from all 6 of us, and when it came to me it was well loved, soft and cuddly. Looking at it now, 37 years later, I only pull it out and use it gently when someone needs a good cuddle. It holds many found thoughts for me of a grandmother I never knew and a mother who knew I would treasure it.
That is beautiful. I love the wonderful color in this piece.
I've gotten several beautiful quilts from my sisters :) One of my favorites from you is the crop circles one. They boys like it too. They've been known to wear it like a cape as they take a flying leap from the steps.
And look at those teeny pinwheels in the sashing--Wow! I'd say you've got a pretty special friend there. A gorgeous quilt.
Beautiful quilt to gift to a friend, and you're one lucky friend, indeed! Nice pillow, too! No, I've never been the recipient of a quilt, but I have a few afghans that my grandmothers made me.
Over 40 years ago my mother-in-law gave us newly weds a quilt for our bed. She hand pieced the top. She and her sisters hand quilted it. My husband remembers the sisters quilting in their living room. The frame took up the whole room.
What a fantastic belated birthday gift. She must love you very much. Thanks for sharing and inspiring the rest of us to use our scraps.
Beautiful quilt and pillow! Somehow I find it hard to believe you needed to swap scraps to round out your fabric selection;). Anytime I receive something handmade (never a quilt but bags, pillows, etc) I am so touched because I know that person made it for me. It's just infused with a love I can feel. Such a nice feeling, too! But jewelry always makes a nice gift, too;)
Just beautiful! I love how the little pinwheels match the color of the blocks they are next to! That is attention to detail!
Oh oh oh!!!
I just got married, which is one of the 3 occasions my grandmother gifts quilts! (Birth, Graduation, Marriage.) Her quilts mean so so much to me. I only quilt with giving in mind- the problem is finishing them!! My baby quilts turn into toddler and kid quilts by the time I'm done with them.
Looking at this beautiful quilt, I'm reminded of what that same grandmother calls "rainy day quilts." I remember being a kid at her lakehouse, bummed that we couldn't enjoy water activities on rainy days. We would get one of these types of quilts out of her stash and sit and talk about it until the rain cleared up. What a fantastic memory!
Thanks for sharing a gift that keeps giving!
What a beautiful quilt - and what a wonderful, generous friend!
Once upon a time I said I would never ever give a quilt to anyone else. But now I started to at least swap quilts for things others make for me as I can't knit. So I guess, I'm not so far from giving them away as presents.
Have a great day!
Sabrina
My colour of the moment is purple, but I love pink too, and have quite a few pink makes.
Brianne found some lovely fabrics for your quilt, for sure ... such a generous friend!
As Suzanne said, I worry when giving stitched gifts, that people will look for imperfections!
Barbara x
I received a quilt, of sorts. After our parents both passed away, my sisters and I were going through the house trying to decide what to do with all their stuff. We discovered a quilt top that my sisters insisted I "save." I really didn't want it (you'd understand if you'd seen it).
Eventually I decided to quilt it and realized that it had been hand-sewn by my grandmother, whom I adored. My mom saved it, unquilted, for years despite the fact that she also was a quilter (probably because it was made of many different types of fabric, knits, polyester, velveteen, cotton, just everything went into that quilt). I used some of mom's fabric to make a backing and struggled with the puckers and problems. Now it's one of my favorite quilts. I consider it a gift from the two women who most influenced my quilting and who were the most precious to me.
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