A quilt for my Gran

My Gran was the person who introduced me to quilting. She's the only person in my immediate blood-relative family who quilts, and who I talk quilting with regularly. She's also getting to the age where her mobility is slowing down, and her hand dexterity is degrading. She's also not afraid to ask if she wants something.

I think it may have started as a joke, but she mentioned wanting a new quilt for their bed, which led to her joking about how I should just make it for her because she doesn't want to use her sewing machine anymore, to her outright asking if I'd make one for her, to her giving me paint swatch samples and telling me what colours are in the wallpaper borders of her room! I strung her along for a bit, all the while knowing that I'd make the quilt. 

With the help of Ali who owns Mad About Patchwork in Ottawa, we pulled a very traditional looking colour palette from modern fabrics after I decided on my pattern. Cause here's the catch - my gran is a very traditional quilter, and I'm not. As morbid as it sounds, when my grandparents are no longer with us, I want that quilt back, so I made it as a blend of both of our styles. Using the traditional colour palette I drafted an improv layout using flying geese blocks going in both upwards and downwards directions. I then had the quilt top long-arm quilted by my friend Kirstin in a very traditional looking paisley panto pattern. 

I used Essex Linen in Navy for the background, and a Peppered Cotton on the back as its my most favourite quilt backing - sooo cozy! 

While the label could have been stitched, I do like putting my "signature" on my quilts, literally. 

I gifted the finished quilt to them this past Christmas. How she was surprised I actually made it for them is a mystery - the hint dropping was a long-term effort of hers!

Thanks for reading!