Last March my lovely mother, who looks like she’s 40, turned 60. I had made a few quilts and knew I wanted to make her a quilt for the Big Occasion. My mom is a great mom, daughter, sister, grandmother, cook, teacher, and also a devoted gardener. Her quilt would definitely feature flowers, this I knew. I scrambled to source a medley of fabric and get it all pre-washed.
One of my very favorite quilting books is the Modern Quilt Workshop by Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle. I bought it when I first started quilting and it was a fantastic source of inspiration. I read it in one sitting on a cross-country flight and literally felt pumped to jump into more quilting. I don’t usually use that word… but I did truly feel excited by the book. I decided to make their Eclipse quilt for my mom. The circles are a nice symbol for birthdays, very harmonious and auspicious in Chinese culture.
The top was actually a breeze to put together. Sewing the large, gentle curves wasn’t difficult in the least, and fabric choice and arrangement was, as usual, the most time consuming part for me. I used mostly larger scale Kaffe Fassett florals, peppered with some Amy Butler and also a few smaller prints for the circles. And though I did get the top finished in time for her birthday, let’s just say it took “a while” for me to get around to sandwiching, pinning, quilting and binding. When you have 72 10”x10” blocks to cover with relatively close stippling, it takes HOURS! I suppose I could’ve waited less than 10 months to start, though. I only just finished the quilt a few weeks ago. January. 2010. For her March 2009 birthday present. Better late than never!
In a way I’m glad I waited, since I got a bit more free motion quilting experience under my belt (presser foot? groan.. sorry) in the interim. I used four different colors of thread for the top, to have the quilting blend more with the different colored blocks.
The requisite picture of one of my ever-so-helpful cats. Looking so innocent there, Teaj.
Teaj: Go away, you’re bugging me.
I debated whether or not to just fold the backing over as the binding. It’s a bright and fresh green, which offsets the richer colors of the quilt top.
Then considered both a lilac binding and a darker turquoise (fine, it’s teal… but I just hate that word, for some reason. I think it has to do with a story my friend Michelle told me about a guy we knew in high school… two words should do it: “teal” and “suit.”) I liked the way the lilac softened the colors and made the quilt look very feminine.
But ultimately decide that the (fine!) teal offered a better contrast and would also stand up better against the rich tones of the quilt top. Plus it looks better with the light green backing.
I just love the way a closely quilted quilt puckers up and gains a lovely soft texture when it’s been washed.
The backing was more of the Northcott Bubbles and Blooms, as was the binding.
And I also got to use the Masterworks Lite machine embroidery software I purchased ($$$$!!) - I was able to quickly design the Chinese characters 媽媽 (Mama, mom) and 妹妹 (Meimei, little sister, my nickname - I was the littlest for 8 years before my sister Bea came along) and embroider the label.
My parents love it and it’s adding quite a bit of color to their bedroom these days.
