Pair of Bookcase Quilts

I recently had the opportunity to quilt a pair of amazing bookcase quilts.  These quilts were made by husband and wife quilting duo, Fred and Betty for their two granddaughters. (Fun Fact:  I used to babysit Fred and Betty's children when I was a young teenager so this experience was extra cool for me.)

The amount of personalization and detail is just phenomenal and I am sure these quilts will be treasured forever.  The pictures I am sharing will only give you a taste of everything that was included.  

 

Fred and Betty requested that the quilts be similar but different.  We kept the straight line quilting on the bookcase parts the same, but changed up the background and border designs.  Truly, most of the quilting was stitching in the ditch around the books and other elements on the shelves.

The first quilt got a triangle meander design in the background and a larger version in the border.

 

The second got branding curls in the background and a fun design that Betty and Fred suggested for the border.

Fred and Betty used so many interesting fabrics that really reflected the original book colours, the also had crisp bright photo transfers and a ton of embroidery.  Truly a labour of love.  I'm just going to share a bunch of photos for you to enjoy.

The Hood

Marion brought this most unique quilt that she made out of her Tula Pink fabric stash.  The pattern is called "The Hood" and is from the book Quilt with Tula and Angela.  The layout is one of the most unique I have seen in a long time.

The quilt is a generous queen size.  Marion requested low density quilting and settled on the "Fanciful Fliers" pantograph as she also liked the thought of the butterflies flitting around the neighborhood.

Marion took a lot of care fussy cutting motifs for the houses and matching all the interesting prints so carefully.  Here are some of my favorites.

 

 

Cindy's Batik Pinwheel

 
Cindy made this fresh and pretty batik pinwheel quilt.  She selected a fun summery pantograph called "Fanciful Fliers."   This pantograph is quickly becoming one of my most popular.

 

Cindy requested the Quilter's Dream Puff batting which balanced nicely with her cozy fireside backing.

 

Cindy's "Brave Enough to Dream" Home Quarter

 

Cindy made this version of the Highway 10 Designs Home Quarter quilt pattern for her grandson's "big boy bed."  The fabric is from a beautiful line called "Brave Enough to Dream" by Dear Stella fabrics.  The pattern has some large pieces that really allow you to appreciate the fabulous prints.

Cindy selected the Ebb & Flow pantograph, and Quilter's Dream Puff batting that combines so nicely with her gorgeous navy fireside backing.

Around the Island

This fabulous quilt was made by my good friend and client Reneta.  Reneta served as a pattern tester for The Quilted Stash.  The pattern is called "Around the Island" and will be published in a book called The Quilted Stash.  For those of you not familiar with Canadian Geography, the island in the centre of the quilt is Newfoundland.

Reneta is from Newfoundland so this quilt has a special place in her heart.  She knew she wanted some special quilting on this one.  Since I started quilting in 2012, I have quilted more than 100 quilts for Reneta, so she knows what I can do, and I have a pretty good idea of what she likes. Sometimes she has a vision, sometimes she leaves it up to me. When the idea of adding song lyrics to the open corners came up we were off to the races!

Reneta immediately knew the song that spoke to her the same way this quilt did - Saltwater Joys.   The song was recorded by Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers, written by Wayne Chaulk. 

You can have a listen here.

I had a lot of fun doing the cursive writing quilting.  The key to that was all in the preparation!    

First I cut some newsprint to size and with a sharpie in hand I did some writing to see if I could connect the words and to get a sense of the row height that would work.

Next step was heading to the computer to see how many of the song lyrics could fit into the triangles.  Two stanzas in each corner was a great fit.

Then I chalked in the lines that I would need to follow and numbered them for reference.

On the really long lines of text, I gave myself some registration marks so I had rough idea of the spacing, but otherwise I just went for it.  The hardest part was remembering to dot my i's and cross my t's in the moment! 

For the colourful squares Reneta requested my freehand topographic meander quilting.  The beautiful fabric is the from the Journeys collection from Northcott.

And for the remaining two corners we opted for the Breath of the gods panto for an even design that complimented the rest of the quilt.

  I will share more photos because I can! All of these photos were taken on the grounds of the Marine Museum of Manitoba right here in Selkirk.  And for a little more behind the scenes - this is what the quilt looked like 50% of the time during this photo shoot.  I am very lucky to have a willing helper!  

I enjoyed every minute this quilt has spent with me.  Thank you Reneta for putting your faith in me - I look forward to more collaborations in the future!