I'm fortunate to be blessed with a number of deep friendships. I don't take that for granted. The quilt that I'm showing off today was created in partnership with one of those bosom buddies: my friend, Vicki. Her quilt isn't quite finished yet so I'll show you that another day.
In between the holiday eating...
the baby snuggling...
and more eating...
I managed to sneak off for some quality time with this lovely I'm calling Fortunate Friends.
The pattern for this cleverly pieced quilt is called Good Fortune by Kate Spain and can be downloaded, free of charge here. Vicki and I began our friendship project over a year ago, and as mentioned before, only sewed on it when we were together.(That's our excuse for taking so long to complete it!)
I used the complete line of Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt, complimented by Kona snow for the background. The quilting design was fun to do and was really just a form of doodling with the sewing machine needle! I used an off-white 50 wt. Star thread.The quilting idea came from a book called Doodle Quilting by Cheryl Malkowski.
My favorite aqua Flea Market Fancy fabric, surrounded by Kona snow, makes up the simply pieced backing. My idea was to emulate one of the pieced squares from the front design.
There were quite a few 2.5 inch fabric strips left over from the front, so they became the obvious choice for the binding. I usually cut my binding strips at 2.25 inches wide, but I decided to just go with the wider width, thinking that the extra width would add more accent color to the back of the quilt.
I've used Flea Market Fancy in two complete quilts now plus several little girl's dresses and skirts. There is still some left in my stash so I'll be enjoying the fabrics for quite awhile longer! I admit to getting a little carried away with my online purchase!
One caution for outdoor quilt photography, especially with white ones, is that they might get a little soiled . When I removed Fortunate Friends from the wire fence, I spied a little bit of rust. Oops! Into the washer it went with a bit of Zout on the stain. The quilt is clean and perfectly crinkly now!
I'm looking forward to wrapping myself in this memento to friendship and enjoying it for many years to come. It's my hope that you have a good friend to share life's ups and downs with, as well.
Thanks for stopping by and viewing my blog about quilting and my creative endeavors. It's my online friends that keep me writing every week! You're the best!
Phew! I'm glad the rust came out! It's a very interesting pattern which sings made in Flea Market Fancy! And of course, I love the back! I think that floral is at the top of many quilter's all-time favourite lists!
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful! FMF is going to be a classic line. When did originally come out? And I still love it! Cute pic of the two little girls :)
ReplyDeleteJust love the happy quilting!!!!
ReplyDeleteSweet post. Love the girlies at the end ; ) Of course the quilt is gorgeous too
ReplyDeleteYour quilt is gorgeous, Carla, and even more special because it represents your friendship with Vicki.
ReplyDeleteI love that pattern. You did a wonderful job. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI am sitting here with tears in my eyes....friends are so very special. Your quilt is a wonderful reminder of fortunate times together. Blessings on you!
ReplyDeleteIt's absolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI love your quilt. It's so beautiful. And I love you did this as a friendship quilt. I always do my bindings 2.5". They are just more comfortable for me. I like the bigger binding on the back. Kim Deihl will sometimes do them really wide...like 4 to 5" wide. That's a cool and unexpected look, too!
ReplyDeleteThat quilt is divine! I don't have any FMF in my stash, so it's fun to see how much you've enjoyed it. The picture of the cheese dips made me want to grab a chip and dig in! Love the picture of Fred and the baby; love the picture of your four sweet granddaughters; but even more... the last photo is the best. It perfectly captures the specialness of friendship. Definitely keep on blogging. You've blessed me - and I bet, many people - with this post, dear friend.
ReplyDeleteLove the doodle quilt~
ReplyDeleteone day i may be brave and play with the Kona SNOW ...
What great pictures! Looks like it was a fun day.
ReplyDeleteI want to see a picture of the quilt the children are sitting on....antique?
Hi, was searching and found your quilt. I was surprised to see someone else made this quilt with Denyse Schmidt fabric. Mine is still a work in progress and is made with her Chicopee collection.
ReplyDelete