It's finally done and the newest embroidered label is quilted on the back. I dated and attached a label when I pieced it but since it's now 2012, I added another label and attached a hanging sleeve. It's going to a quilt show soon and then it will live on the bed in our Granary.
I must admit I love this quilt in spite of the many times I wanted to pull the plug on it. You may remember that it all started with some printed flour sacks my husband found in an antique store. He hates that I added this part of the quilt's history to the label. He says it makes him sound "odd" (his words, not mine). After all, "who has a flour sack collection?" I say it was "genius" to collect them with a specific purpose in mind. He had an idea of a quilt from the time he first saw the sacks in that tiny town in Idaho.
He started buying sacks with geographical and family significance. He was persistent with the quilt idea and I finally agreed to make him one as long as he agreed it could be a leisurely project. I was true to my word;
it took 3 years to complete. I didn't work on it consistently and the hand quilting took me a lot longer than I planned on.
I used quilting thread for the tiny stitches and heavy linen thread to do big stitch quilting and cross stitches along the edges of the blocks. The sacks were "wonky" with different fabric thicknesses and ranged in size from 3 lb. to 100 lb. bags. Some were full of holes and needed patching.
Old and faded, some bags still had a bit of flour in them. Eww!!! In a nutshell, it was huge challenge.
But in the end, I am happy with it. I hope he is too.
I love it. I think it's so beautiful! Makes me want to pick up quilting myself!
ReplyDeleteOhMyGosh! When do we get to see the full picture??? (I do hate to be damanding LOL.) Those corners look amazing -- the perfect complement to the flour sacks. And you hand quilted the whole thing -- that's Awesome!!!! Congratulations Bonnie!
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful, Bonnie! Your stitches are so tidy and perfect!
ReplyDeleteWhat a brilliant idea! Tell your hubby that I think he is BRILLIANT for thinking up this idea of a turning a flour sack collection into a quilt. It's beautiful and historical and just.......Brilliant! You, my dear, are a wonderful wife and quilter.
ReplyDeleteLove the plaid!
Jody
I'm sure he loves it. Such a creative fun idea. I'm sure it will be a hit at the quilt show. My mom use to take us to the Springville quilt show every year.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, what a work of art, Bonnie! Hand stitched perfection. Every bit of it is amazing! Your husband was so creative(not odd!) to think of making a quilt from flour sacks!
ReplyDeleteHe's just got to love it. And who would want a husband that's just run of the mill? Pardon the pun; you two sound like a match made in heaven, he collecting the sacks and you making them into something beautiful to highlight their beauty, elevating the commonplace to something treasured. Keep up the good work! :) I especially appreciate your hand quilting around the landscape scene in the sack. I am an impatient hand quilter, more prone to zooming through on machine. But then mine don't get all this hand-done beauty. Yours was well worth the extra years!
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful Bonnie, what a treasure !!
ReplyDeleteis this his Father's Day gift?? Wow. Awesome idea/project Bonnie. I need to show this post to my friend Robyn who is a crazy quilter. She would love this.
ReplyDelete