"43 years in the making"
Many years ago, my good friend, Rebecca, were baseball moms. You know. Those moms that have only boys and live at the local Little League ballpark all week long?
She used to watch me work on quilt bindings at baseball practices and games and one day approached me about finishing a quilt her grandmother had started around the time we were born.
She delivered a gorgeous Dresden top that her grandmother had added embroidery on the centers of. It had a backing and even the batting was basted to the backing. Just waiting for some quilting.
Originally, the plan was for me to help HER finish it. We agreed we would set up a date. Not quite that much later, Ole Betsy came into my life and I asked for her to wait for me to get to know my longarm. I thought probably be a really enjoyable experience for her and I to do together.
Then, she moved to the northern suburbs in Houston from our southwest corner. And if you know the area well? You know that's equivalent to moving across the country.
I messaged her a few times to set up a date. Then. We moved to Salt Lake City. I told her I was taking it with me and I would be mailing her a finished quilt.
One year later, with house renovations out of the way, I finally worked on it.
And looking back? All those years of waiting were worth it. I have 6 years on my longarm under my belt, I "found" my feathers last winter. I had quilted a few vintage quilts up to this point also and had learned so much from my research.
It would have been a completely different finish if I had quilted it on my domestic machine 7 years ago.
It just seemed meant to be.
Things of note.
Batting: I did end up adding another layer of batting. The original batting caused a lot of tension issues in the beginning because it was lumpy in some areas and very thin in others. It still was uneven, but it quilted more smoothly and I love the extra depth it created.
Quilting: Free motion feathers in the blue sashing and borders. Meandering/stippling around each Dresden. Loops on the pointy dresdens and indents on the straight plates.
The binding? A yellow gingham I had in my stash.
That actually matched a few of the dresden yellow gingham in the top!
I embroidered a quilt label on the back. I sent her the proof to make sure she liked the wording.
I wanted all the hands that had a part of it recognized on the back!!
Quilt Stats:
Measures:
Pattern: Dresden Plate
Fabric: Vintage fabrics
Thread: So Fine/King Tut Brooklet Variegated and Omnithread Natural White
Quilted: Free motion quilting on HQ Avante