Saturday, March 9, 2013

Focusing on Life - Week 10



Here is this week’s photo prompt from Sally...

Are you all wrapped up in warmth or are you diving into a dessert that is all wrapped up in yummy goodness? You have a prompt that has many different meanings, grab the camera and show us how you are interpreting "all wrapped up"!

I have to admit that I’ve had more difficulty with this prompt than any of the others so far. I was drawing a complete blank. I ended up discussing it with a friend who helped me through the thought process. Of all the things we talked about, the one that stayed with me was ‘my quilt’.

My mother and I went to a workshop years ago, many more years than I can remember, to learn how to make a Trip Around The World quilt in a day. The instructor was fabulous and we all did have a quilt top completed that day and some even had the whole thing finished before going home.

The reason they worked up so quickly is that we were not actually hand quilting them, simply tying them where the seams meet at the corners of the 6” squares. We were all pretty pleased with ourselves at the end of the day. The only thing I had left to do on mine was to finish off the outer edge and the binding.


Well, other tasks and obligations kept me from working it at home. Eventually, it ended up packed away in the back of the linen closet, virtually forgotten. Until the day that I finally decided, many years later, that I needed to sort through all the stuff in my house and downsize a bit.

A new friend who does a lot of quilting offered to help me finish it off.  I took it over to her place one day and she stretched it out on her quilt frame. I think that is part of the reason I never did it before, I simply did not have the room at my house to do the job.

We spent several days working together on it, chatting and getting to know each other. I really enjoyed the process and was excited to finally be getting it done. Here it is on the frame, being hand quilted along the outside border.


That quilt now resides on my bed and keeps me all wrapped up in warmth every night as I sleep. The bright colours greet me every morning. I love this quilt!


You can see the finished binding and some of the hand stitching in the photo above. I'd like to make another quilt one day, completely quilting it by hand. I've been collecting fabric scraps and remnants for years. It will be spectacular, a labour of love. *smile*

19 comments:

  1. Lovely interpretation of the prompt. The quilt is wonderful. I have one and the weight of it makes such a differene in keeping me warm.

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  2. Wonderful quilt and wonderful memories to go with it.

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  3. A beautiful quilt!! It holds wonderful memories with your mom, and also with your friend.

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  4. i think one of the most wonderful experiences a person can have is a quilting bee! and what a gorgeous quilt! my sister-in-law sent us all quilts when we moved back to england - they are family heirlooms for sure :)

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  5. Oh it is so pretty I do not blame you a bit for loving being wrapped up in it every night and waking to the bright beauty of it every morning.
    Therese

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  6. So wonderful that you went back and finished it. It's beautiful!

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  7. How nice of your friend to help you finish up the quilt you had started a long time ago. I need to go thru my house and find unfinished projects and either finish them or move them out of the house.

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  8. Love quilts! We bought a crazy quilt in NL last fall it's a kingsize quilt and we have a queensize bed but it looks great anyway as does yours! And you have the satisfaction of knowing that you made yours!

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  9. what a beautiful quilt! My grandmother, and great grandmother both made quilts and handed them down through the family. I have a few and they are keepsakes! Your's will be as well!! it is beautiful

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  10. What a wonderful wrapping - in your quilt, and the memories it holds!

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  11. What a wonderful story and photos to go with it!

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  12. This is such a beautiful wrapped-up story: I love it; your quilt is lovely and a wonderful memory!

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  13. That looks so nice! I've been wanting to get into quilting to make a Doctor Who quilt, but this is just awesome. I love the colors!

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  14. Oh what a beautiful story and treasure you get to keep and enjoy and above all keep warm!

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  15. Sweet story and lovely quilt! Wraps you, your mom and your friend all in one!

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  16. What a beautiful quilt and what a great friend to help you finish it!

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  17. How beautiful, and warmed by the friends who added their love by helping you to create it. Enjoy!

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  18. What a fantastic story about your quilt. So full of memories and new friends. How sweet to be snuggled under it's warmth each night.

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  19. A beautiful quilt Bonnie, It certainly fits the wrapped up theme and it's a good memory too.

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