My Mennonite Quilt

 

This is MY quilt. It took me awhile to commit to it but as I was struggling to find enough fabric to piece together the back and something for a border I decided to stop being silly and make the darn thing properly. I had $70 of beautiful brown fabric just sitting in my stash and I was saving it for someone else?! Then I saw it was called "Coffee Moment" and knew it was meant to be! I used up all of my darker purple to make a proper border and bring the quilt up to the "right" size for my tables. The brown was the perfect amount for the backing and binding and it really balances out all that purple! Mom had suggested something navy, which would have been good too...but the brown is really perfect. At first I thought the pattern might be a little too "fancy" - kind of too much for a Mennonite Quilt (named because I bought the fabric from a Mennonite lady in St Jacobs), and then I remembered Anne. And more specifically...Anne's dress!  In the movie it was blue, but in the book....

Anne took the dress and looked at it in reverent silence. Oh how pretty it was - a lovely soft brown gloria with all the gloss of silk: a skirt with dainty frills and shirrings, a waist elaborately pintucked in the most fashionable way with a little ruffle of filmy lace at the neck. But the sleeves - they were the crowning glory! Long elbow cuffs and above them two beautiful puffs divided by rows of shirring and bows of brown silk ribbon...

..."Like it? Oh, Matthew!" Anne clasped her hands. "It's more exquisite than any dress I could ever imagine."

"Puffed sleeves, he noted, in the tone of an expert.

"The puffiest in the world," exulted Anne. "You are a man of impeccable taste, Matthew"

"Mustn't get your dress dirty," he said gruffly. But Anne, forgetting all about her new dress in the rush of love she felt for him, threw her arms about Matthew and hugged him tightly. 

- Anne of Green Gables

Yes, the brown would be just perfect. My quilt is lovely - all little forget-me-nots that remind me of Nan and Celtic crosses that remind me of Mom...honestly, I think I love every inch of it. And ALL that purple. Finished it up on Valentine's Day - still with lots of winter left to need a good cozy quilt.

 (6'C on the deck - warm enough for a cup of coffee and a book with my quilt!)

 (Gratuitous corner shot -super happy with the quilting on the corner too)

Notes on the making of my quilt :)

May 2014 - went to St Jacobs quilt festival w A. Got ridiculously lost but had a blast. Was planning on visiting friends after show (bribe for A for good behaviour) and I remember him standing in the middle of the sidewalk with his little hands on his hips, stomping his foot and saying "Okay enough Mommy. You've had your fun, now it's time to go do something I like!!" Bought a Jelly Roll at a darling little Mennonite Quilt store on the way out of town with the only cash I had! Colours are blues and browns and purples from what I can see.

October 29, 2014 - worked the Jelly Roll into a full piece. Turned the Celtic crosses around and much happier with the "wrong" side :) Came out rather small 30.5' x40.5'  Have to decide how to proceed... LOVE the colours. Lots of pretty purples and floral prints. Reminds me of Nan (my beloved great grandmother).

December 28 - Dying to quilt after months of knitting. Played around with all my purple fat quarters. And a few scraps leftover from Grandma's quilt. Thinking about a sort-of log cabin idea?  Added 2 fat quarters cut into 2.5 inch strips, went in log cabin pattern til it measured 50.5x 41.5 inches. Added a 5.5 inch purple border to make it 51x60.5.

February 15 - got tired of trying to make this fit on my frame. Need a few more inches of fabric to get it to baste properly. Added 5 inches dark purple (SO much purple!) and then committed to the chocolate brown for the back and binding. End result is 60x69.5 inches. Perfection!