Made the quilt. Made it again. Made it a 3rd time. Only the 3rd time I just let her sit in the closet after she was beautifully quilted by Connie Gallant, awaiting the binding. I even cut and stitched the binding together, so why did it take so long? Three years? Yikes!!
I'm talking about my
Strips and Strings quilt using Amy Butler fabrics (no, I'm not smoking anything). Here's the original quilt by Mary Lee Bendolph of Gee's Bend, Alabama.
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| Mary Lee Bendolph and her Strips & Strings quilt (49" x 74") |
Windham Fabrics received permission to partner with the Gee's Bend Collective to pattern and kit 8 of their quilts. They commissioned me to adapt the quilts for patterns. How can you pattern an improvisational quilt? Believe me, I thought I was going to pull my hair out, but it actually became easier after the first one.
Here is my rendition of this quilt:
And here's the quilt that went without binding for 3 (or more) years. I added side borders and used contemporary fabrics, including some Kaffe Fassett and Amy Butler!
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| Strips and Strings goes modern! 64" x 75" |
And another shot:
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| Just lounging on my deck on a sunny afternoon |
And one more:
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| A nice flat shot |
I actually did a blog post about 3 of the quilts, showing them side by side with the original quilts. You can see them here:
Gee's Bend quilts side by side
You can see ALL 8 QUILTS side by side at my
Craftsy store. Each quilt is shown as the original and then my adaptation. Strips and Strings was by far my most challenging. I added the two floral side borders in order to make it larger (64" x 75")
Now the quilt is happy. She is singing and dancing and refuses to go back up into the closet. Can you blame her?
I could say "about time too!!" but I think most of us have UFO`s going back a long time. This is a super quilt love the pastel shades you have used in it
ReplyDeleteNow, I have a few quilts or more that have been living in the closet for quite some time, but none that were as far along the road to completion as this one! Or as beautiful. Congratulations on your finish! It's quite stunning.
ReplyDeletethinking three years a long time, So is 11 years I just finished a quilt that was started back in 2004. It was a block swap with a yahoo group, it sat in a bin under my table all this time forgotten. I haven't a clue why I never got it finished but now that it is, it's beautiful
ReplyDeleteJoan in GA
Love the quilts. Amazing how fabric choices can make such a difference! I think many of us have things that we put away and forget.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how the fabric changes the look of the quilt. This one looks happy and carefree - especially now that her slip's not showing! =) Great finish.
ReplyDeleteThis is truly beautiful and well worth the wait. Wonderful that you finished it and it's now probably a most happy quilt to be breathing in the open air.
ReplyDelete