A quilt for a grand-daughter

When I saw Natalie Bird's 'A Letter to My Daughter' quilt a couple of years ago as a Block of the Month in Homespun Magazine, I felt it was something I would enjoy making with its appliqued and embroidered blocks. 

I also saw it as an opportunity to use up lots of my fabric stash and so I set myself the goal of not purchasing any fabric to complete the quilt.

The focus with this quilt was to enjoy the journey. There was absolutely no pressure to finish, or to keep up with the magazine timetable.

It was a project I could pick up and just as quickly put down at whim if some other craft was calling for my attention. 

I enjoyed putting my own spin on the blocks, with my signature outlining of the appliques, or popping in my favourite Palestrina Knot stitch here and there ...

or adding a scalloped edge:

I enjoyed Natalie's words of wisdom to her daughter.

When it came to putting it all together as a quilt I took some poetic licence and just used the pattern as a guide, rather than following it as written.

The quilt ended up big enough to sit on top of a Queen size bed.

Once my grand-daughter announced her engagement, I knew this was the quilt for her.

My wonderful quilter finished it in time for me to give it to her as part of her wedding present.

Now I pray that her home will indeed be filled with love.

Val

Another family celebration

2023 seems to be the year of Celebrations in our family! A couple of weeks ago another of our grand-daughters was married!

I was so happy that I could travel interstate to attend the wedding. I hadn't been on a plane for six years and not away from home for a long time, so it was a bit daunting to think about travelling again, and on my own. However, all the travel went really well and it was wonderful to be there for the happy occasion.

It was quite a family event and I had the honour of being one of the witnesses to sign the register. One of my beautiful great grand-daughters was a flower girl:

Here I am with my son, the father of the bride:

The flowers were absolutely stunning, arranged by another grand-daughter who is a florist. The bouquets and church flowers were in these pretty colours:

The brief for the wedding reception was 'party', and this riot of colour certainly promoted that atmosphere:

The day after the wedding a 'Post-wedding Brunch' was held for all the family to be together. It was such a brilliant idea, as with a big wedding it is impossible to catch up with everyone. The relaxed hours the next morning gave opportunity to talk and share precious time together, especially with extended family whom I hadn't seen for many long years.

This was the welcome that greeted us at the entrance to the Brunch:

My three-day break away from my normal, fairly circumscribed life was a real joy. Hubby survived without my visits, my plants remained alive and everything was just as I had left it! My body, however, decided it could get used to holiday mode, so motivation to do anything like work flew out the window for a week! Thankfully, the diary allowed for that, so I just accepted the fact that sometimes I just need a break, and that is OK!

Next time I chat I will show you the quilt I made for the bride and groom!

Many blessings

Val