Saturday, January 11, 2014

Special K!

I am happy (sort of) to say that we are back from a wonderful week in Toronto and were lucky to be delayed only one day due to Mother Nature.  I will spare you the details of the drive back earlier this week but suffice it to say - the roads could have used a bit more attention.  Leaving is hard.  Always hard.  Our son.  Our daughter-in-law.  And, our "perfect" grandson -- and if you are a grammie, you know that all grandchildren are perfect.  So is ours!
What helped with leaving this week was the anticipation of meeting our new great-nephew who put in is appearance on Sunday!  Special K!  Loved him from the minute I heard my niece-the-athlete's voice informing me that I was now "officially" Grand Aunt Jan (GAJ for short).  I love my nieces to death and being a "great aunt" seemed like underachieving so I told them I wanted to be Grand Aunt Jan (and if you say that in with a Downton Abbey affectation, it sort of rhymes).  Nevertheless, I was anxious to meet another "perfect" grandchild.
This is the quilt that I made for my sister (the new grammie) for Christmas.  It is from strings that my niece-the-quilter gave me last year when she was cleaning out some of her scraps.  Most are about 1" wide and from various bright pre-cuts she used in making quilts for children in her life.  I had made a few blocks with them by actually piecing the string onto a pre-cut square.  I'm not sure I really like this method but it does provide stabilization and makes it easy to trim them down.
So -- this particular quilt is from my niece-the-quilter (altho she didn't know about it), mr iquiltforfun, and me.  And I have mentioned it on the blog a time or two but was unable to show the blocks because it was a Christmas secret.
The backing (and this is a dreadful picture) is from a cut of fabric (beautiful pink fuchsias on a vibrant blue background in real life) that I bought in Hawaii when the new mommy and daddy got married two years ago.  The binding is a bright pink (yes, I know it's a boy!) Indian batik that the new parents gave me for a birthday.  And the strings are all from the new aunt -- along with some that I added to increase the significance of the quilt.
Besides a piece of Christmas fabric from my mother's fabrics (it's really not very pretty but it needed to be in there!), I have added at least one strip from every fabric that I received for my 60th birthday.  I have written about that quilt here if you want more detail.  This remains one of the (if not the) most special quilts I have because of the significance of each piece of fabric.
So baby K's grammie has a quilt for when he comes to visit.  Can't wait to see him in his stroller in the neighborhood this spring or laying on the quilt on his little belly in a few months.  New babies bring us so much joy!  And so does sharing our love of quilting with those who appreciate it.  Life is good.

I hope you are starting 2014 off with lots of joy in your life!

Jan




37 comments:

Hitch and Thread said...

A great quilt. I love the story behind it. You can tell it has been made with Love.

Kris said...

Great quilt. It is so scrappylicious!

Lucy | Charm About You said...

Gorgeous quilt! Congratulations!

Sara said...

Grand Aunt Jan the quilt for your sister is very lovely:):)

I think that you were very clever to add a strip of fabric from your 60th B-day in the patchwork quilt;)

Unknown said...

Congrats on your newest family member! The quilt is very pretty. I received a beautiful quilt when I was pregnant and we put my son on it all the time. They truly are wonderful gifts.

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

GRANDlittles are wonderful! :)

Happy Sewing! :) and congrats on the newest little one :)

Victoria said...

Congrats on your grandbaby!! This quilt is INCREDIBLE. I wish I had enough patience to learn this, because the end result is beautiful!

Stopping buy from Think Pink Sundays!
-V
http://vlittlebirds.blogspot.com

Charlie said...

That is gorgeous! Just saw your link up on block party! Love it!
Charlie
http://pickledokra.blogspot.com

Keera Job - live.love.sew pattern co. said...

I love this scrappy quilt! Gorgeous colours and lots of fun. Stopping I'm from craft-o-maniac. Keera @ livelovesew.com.au

Keera Job - live.love.sew pattern co. said...

*in

Judy@Quilt Paradigm said...

Found you through the linky party at Sew Many Ways :) The love the story behind this quit and the quilt is beautiful!

Cheryl said...

What a wonderful string quilt, I like all of the colors set with the white fabric.

Kathie said...

Love all the bright strips.

bnh123 said...

Beautiful colors and what a nice way to use scraps!

Bonnie said...

Lovely quilt with so many wonderful memories in it. Grands are so much fun.

Deb@asimplelifequilts said...

Love this quilt! I think this setting is so pretty... it really shows off your great scraps.

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

What a beautiful quilt and love the bright colors! Congrats on being a great auntie! Thanks for sharing.
Freemotion by the River Linky Party Tuesday

Vicki in MN said...

congrats on the new babies in your life! The quilt is wonderful, so great to make something out of leftover strings.

Schulz Family said...

visiting from ladybug blessings. I love that you have used the strips. Someone else's rubbish is definitely your treasure!

knottygnome said...

what a wonderful use of scraps and i love the quilting!

Kelly Vetch said...

Lovely! I love using scraps!

QuarterMileQuilts said...

Such a wonderful use of scraps and happy to know you made it home safely! Best, Kate

Sarah @ Georgia Girl Quilts said...

What a great story and quilt! LOVE IT!

Kathy Shea Mormino, The Chicken Chick said...

Beautiful work. I just love the colors you have chosen for the quilt. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

Cheers,
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick
http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

Sara said...

Scrap quilts are my favorite and this one is beautiful! I need to go through my stash and start one like this. Thanks for sharing :)

Julie said...

These projects are so great! I love that the fabric all has meaning. I just adore making quilts for babies. Until about two years ago I only really ever made baby quilts. Thanks for linking up with TGIFF!

Paulette said...

You know, I just had to say Grand Aunt Jan in a Downton Abbey affected voice when you wrote that, lol. Love your bright and beautiful string quilt! Been thinking I need to make another string quilt soon myself. Thanks for the inspiration!

Catherine said...

That is a marvellous quilt - I so admire your patience in piecing all those strings. The result is fantastic!

Leanne Parsons said...

I love the story behind all the fabrics! What a great grandbaby quilt. I'm sure the new little man will enjoy it when he visits.

Nicole said...

That is a really pretty quilt and I couldn't help but notice the amazing quilting you did on it. Have a wonderful weekend!

Jayne said...

Gorgeous quilt! I am in love with it!

jjthor said...

Congrats !! Love the quilts you have made. I always look forward to seeing what you have posted!! Hope you have a great 2014.

sonia said...

Congrats on your new title "grand aunt Jan" sounds fantastic and the quilt looks awesome, I've been sorting scraps today and this quilt is a great inspiration. Thank you for sharing!

genie said...

Congrats! Both of these projects are wonderful. Love the way you used the scraps...very clever and the string quilt is beautiful. Like the contrast of the colors and the white. The story about the other one from your birthday is beautiful. What a treasure you now have. genie

Lynn said...

What a great use of scraps, always looking for ways to decrease my pile (I'm dreaming!) and it looks so lovely. The quilting too is just great.

Sweet Woodruff said...

Love scrappy string quilts the best. They are my favorite. This one is especially wonderful. I will have to remember this layout. Love the white and how it makes the colors pop. Glad you got to see your family.

grapes and hearts said...

Congratulations, Grand Aunt Jan! Your scrappy quilt looks awesome! Although I got confused with all your nieces, sisters - new grandmas, new aunties, aunties, daughters, nephews, etc. I wish health and happiness to your large family :o)

Greetings from Germany
Christine