FIRST QUILT (2002-2006)
This is one corner of the first crazy quilt I made. I started the quilt in 2002 ... my 40th year. My mother made crazy quilts when I was a little girl, and I would help her put the embellishment stitches on them. She only knew one ... the briar stitch, and she taught it to me. I've learned many many stitches in the years since I began quilting, but the briar stitch is the one I always lay down first on every patch of every quilt I make.
The color choices for this quilt were inspired by a quilt my mother made when I was 10. It wasn't a crazy quilt. It was made from triangles of velvet, courdory, and wool and she formed the triangles into a beautiful pattern. It was a heavy quilt, and very warm. Almost too warm now that I'm in my middle age and right smack in the middle of perimenopause.
This is a block from the same quilt. The "I love you" heart is all that was left of a Raggedy Andy that my mother made. The colors in this quilt began to take on a certain significance to me as the quilt progressed. Green came to represent the beautiful river valley that I finally was able to put down some roots in. Blue represents the beautiful Ohio River that I can see from my yard. Many of the white pieces were from a wedding gown so they represented marriage, family, commitment to my union with Kevin. Red represented the passions of my life. The purple felt elegant. Kevin says there is elegance to me and that I express in my handwork, whether it be in my quilt stitching or my drawings. I like that. The black was simply for balance.
This quilt took me several seasons to complete. As the seasons come and go, they are reflected in the quilts. Spiderwebs in the summertime, snowflakes in the winter. This quilt, being my first ... and not worked on consistently ... took me 4 years(!) to complete. I've made two more crazy quilts since then (both for my daughters, Cheryl, for her 27th birthday, and Madelynn, for her 16th birthday) and they both took about a year and a half to complete ... still not being worked on consistently ... so I think that's quite an improvement. I am currently working on a crazy quilt for youngest daughter, Gillian. Started it on January 1, 2011 so expect to have it completed by Fall of 2012.
So, this is the quilt ... with Kevin's feet on it (such a no-no) ... It is the best nap quilt in the Universe. Backed with white satin and 3 layers of sheets from Goodwill on the inside.
CHERYL'S QUILT
The unveiling
This is how much Cheryl loved her quilt. :D
