7 Months in the making...

I swore I'd share this quilt with the public after it's debut last Tuesday. It's a celebration quilt for the Blount County Quilt Guild's 25th anniversary. I've been working on it since last December (when I started the idea and requesting the blocks, photos, and name lists to complete it).

There are 41 current members, and currently 7 "sustaining" members from the guild's first few years. All 41 names are listed on the sides, and on each of the 7 pieced block sections, the name of a sustaining member is embroidered.  The photo on the left is of the original guild members, and the one on the right is current as of 2013. There is an Established Date block in the lower right hand (it's in place of an 8th block). The center is also embroidered in two different shades of silver. There are also 7 hand-pieced/hand assembled pink dogwood blooms in the center block. The quilt was quilted with clear monofilament thread on top and grey cotton underneath. The quilt also has a false back covering the white back of the quilt. This false back uses pink, grey and white fabrics from the front of the quilt. I put it there to protect the quilt for many years of wear hanging in the guild house. The binding is white, and hand-sewn. 

(Several of the sustaining member blocks were hand-pieced. There will be/has been a photo with a group of the sustaining members published in local newspapers as well.) 

Now, to make things even more interesting, my little boy has just finished his first quilt top!  I normally don't share people photos, but this was too good not to share. 

He started this quilt top back in December after prodding me for a couple of years to let him machine sew. He's always been proud of buttons I've let him sew on or embroidery work I've let him do (all by hand), but he's been longing to get behind a machine and use an amazing power tool. And yes, I just called sewing machines power tools.....I rather love my power tools.... but moving on....

He was extremely proud to hold his quilt up in front of mine to show his ties to an even greater legacy I hope he's really starting to understand. I should have known when just over a year or two ago he watched in amazement as I made a couple of purses as Christmas gifts that he'd be using one of my old machines by now. 

His exact words regarding the purses: "When I grow up, I want to sew purses for people just like you, Mommy!" 

Whilst this definitely isn't a bag of any sort, it's something that he'll keep and cherish for a lifetime. He already knows that it's hard work and plans to hang the completed quilt on the wall in his room after it's made a few quilt show rounds!

He was excited enough that he immediately wanted to baste his quilt and get started quilting it. 

I think the bigger challenge for him will be getting it done in time for the next local quilt show in October!

:) Whew!