Pinwheel quilt

Well, the quilt I am posting for Park City Girl’s Quilt Festival is about to fly this nest to live with another family…  Its amazing how attached you become to your labours of love…oh, where’s my hanky?…sniff..sniff. ; )  I’ve had a brilliant time sourcing materials, choosing patterns, piecing and quilting this baby sized quilt for a colleague’s first baby.  I have learnt so much through the process, and I am so glad!

For this quilt I sourced all of my fabric online from Sew Mama Sew and had it flown over from the States {to my home in England} with my family’s luggage when they visited this summer.  While I love each and every fabric I selected – not to mention the great service at Sew Mama Sew – I learnt that I prefer to choose my fabrics in person, rather than online.  I am learning that I am at my best creatively when I can use my senses intuitively – especially touch.  It is exciting to see my creative process develop more and more…

Label

I followed a specific pattern for this one, and I was very glad I did.  Being relatively new to the quilting scene, I felt it gave me foundational principles {i.e. machine stippling, colour-work, etc.} and expanded my knowledge of what works – which is always good!  These foundations give me the confidence to brave my own designs and bring in the organic creativity that I so love in all my crafting!

DuckiesI guess the thing I loved most about this quilt is that it was made for a fellow wife who also has a cross-cultural marriage {she is Finnish + he is English} and is, for the moment, raising her first child in a country that isn’t her home and in a language she continues to learn.  Being in an American/English marriage, myself, and living in a country I didn’t grow up in, we have a connection even though we have nearly nothing in common culturally.  We understand each other.  And it makes me happy that through the everyday challenges of living and being married cross-culturally we can encourage each other through the differences we share together.  And I think this quilt is my way of giving a little piece of ‘home’ while she’s in this strange place called England.

Behind every quilt is a story!  To see more quilts and some of the amazing stories behind them, click on the Park City Girl’s Quilt Festival button at the sidebar.  And grab a box of tissues – you’ll be in tears as you hear these people’s stories! Enjoy!