Tuesday, September 28, 2010

A Nicey Jane quilt for Samantha

Looking for my giveaway? Click here, until October 5!

If this wasn't going to one of my very favorite people, I don't think I could part with it....
But there is no better feeling than making a gift for another crafter, who understands the work put into it, and responds with the appropriate squeals and exclamations!! Samantha and I have been bosom buddies since basically the first week of dental school in the '90s, and have bonded over school stress, vacations, breakups, weddings, 3 babes a piece, and many-o-crafts over the years. She lives in Toronto, so we don't get to see each other often, but she is the kind of friend I know I can always count on. We have already declared that when we are both 95 years old widows (bless our wonderful husbands, we will have surely worn them out by then!?!), we will move in together and craft and drink wine and eat cupcakes until our time comes :-)

This is the second quilt I have made with Nicey Jane- the other is for me, and is stuck on the back burner at the basting phase for the moment while I work on things for everyone else! I like this one better. The bold prints on this line are softened so well when in smaller squares, with the neutral grey and white.
I have never done a squares quilt before, and I love the look of this. Didn't realize how hard it is to match up all those corners! I did, most of the time.... It was all the more critical with the quilting I wanted to do, with the single diagonal lines over the grey squares and double lines, 1/4 inch apart, over the patterned. The back was left rather simple. I wanted it to be a nice backdrop to highlight the quilting. The white thread looks great against the grey.

I used the striped Welcome Road fabric for the binding, and love it! I think I will be hoarding more stripes from now on....

I decided to do something a little special with the quilt label, so I used my circle cutter (addicted to that thing!) and made a little flower, and centered it with an inscription. I put a funny friendship quote ("Friends are like bras: close to your heart and there for support") and a few words, then hand stitched on the lot with Perle 8 thread. The edges are raw and again frayed up nicely in the wash. The quilt is lap sized, measuring 60" by 65", which is ample for my shrimpy-barely-5-feet-tall friend! It was so nice to be able to give it to her in person this past weekend at our reunion. Here we are holding it up among the beautiful Banff Rocky Mountains!


I will be sharing this quilt over at Quilt Story, Sew and Tell and A Crafty Soiree (which also featured my reversible bird bib- thanks Malia and Katie!).

30 comments:

Kim said...

Beautiful quilt and love the flower with quote. It makes a very special gift even more personal.

Loving your blog!

Kera said...

Beautiful! I especially love the way you did the Label. I will have to try something similar soon!

Robyn of Coffee and Cotton said...

I love the grey with the Nicey Jane...now I know what to do with the NJ fabric you sent me. What a beautiful site of a quilt and Banff. I use to live in the US Rockies and I hope to someday visit Banff.

Amy Friend said...

What a wonderful gift! I love the colors and the pattern. Beautiful!

Brooke said...

I love this quilt! It is so cute. I love the neutral gray in this one. It really makes the colors take on a different feel. Nice job!

Emily said...

I love this quilt! It's so wonderful! The colors and style just grab me! I've got some fat quarters of Nicey Jane stashed to be made into a quilt... I'm just too afraid to mess up though. One day! :) I love the use of the grey too, it's my fav, and that lable is astounding too! Excellent work!

John'aLee said...

Is that the color 'grey' in that quilt? Wow...I never would have thought to put that in...but it sure does make the quilt. You are obviously good with 'color'!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful quilt and what a beautiful story! I love the last photo of you both wrapped up together in the quilt :)

Jennifer said...

Beautiful quilt! I'm in love with Nicey Jane right now...

Jennifer :)

Amy @ Increasingly Domestic said...

The quilt is gorgeous and the story behind it made me cry a little:)

Tracey Jacobsen said...

I adore the quilt! (both of them actually--Nicey Jane is my favorite)

And a wonderful friend story.

Kelli said...

Geesh woman! You are a machine!!!
This quilt is awesome!!!

Little Island Quilting said...

Nice story...particularly the bra bit!

Chookyblue...... said...

your quilt is lovely..........esp like the last pic too..........

Chookyblue...... said...

your quilt is lovely..........esp like the last pic too..........

Samantha said...

I am the proud owner of this masterpiece and I LOVE IT...truely. I slept with it every night in Banff and have continued to do so since I got home. If I could carry it around the way my small children drag their knit blankets...I would! I get my own special hug each day...what a lucky girl I am to have such an awesome friend who is truly gifted in the craft room! You have inspired me to start quilting, our senior's apartment is going to need an awfully big craft room!

Larri said...

So beautiful...the lovely quilt and even lovelier story. What a great friend you are! Thanks for sharing. Happy Sewing! :o) Larri at Seams Inspired

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

It is beautiful. A wonderful quilt for a wonderful friend.

Miri said...

Beautiful quilt! and I just love how you quilted it!

Quiltstory said...

You are giving this away?!?!!? I'm crosing my fingers that I'M the very good friend ;) I absolutely utterly LOVE the gray in this, it's gorgeous!! Thanks for linking up this week, see you next time :)

Caroline ~ TrilliumDesign said...

LOL that last pic is great! Love the quilt - very pretty!

Anonymous said...

Such a great quilt. I love how you did the label and I love, love, love the last picture. Thanks for sharing!

ktquilts said...

Perfect!!!! Just love this quilt. so wonderful to have a friend that you can share so much with!!

Blessings,

KT

Myra said...

Your quilt is lovely, and I especially love your last photo... How cosy you two look... 8-)

Rene' said...

Awesome quilt and fabulous photos!!!! I really like the quilting lines too. Thanks for sharing!

amy smart said...

This is awesome! I love the gray with all that Nicey Jane goodness. So pretty! And the label is awesome!! Another beauty.

Katie said...

This is beautiful and a wonderful gift for a very special friend. I really like the colors you chose the grey look so modern! The label is great! Thanks for sharing with us at A Crafty Soiree! Please join us next time too!

amylouwhosews said...

This turned out beautifully! I love the quilting you did on it. I'm scared of freemotion - I think the staright line is much more manageable. In short, gorgeous!!

Mary said...

This is so gorgeous! I love that you paired grey with Nicey Jane. Is it Kona Medium Grey? It turned out great, and I love the very last picture in this post :-)

Kirsten said...

Lovely quilt - the grey goes perfectly with the fabrics!!