A Wedding Quilt

We had an incredibly great weekend as we added a new member to our family. My nephew Will married his sweetheart Kristi in a beautiful outdoor ceremony on Saturday afternoon. We had perfect weather conditions at Rocky Fork Lake's Chapel in the Woods. Later, the reception was held in the barn at my sister and brother-in-law's farm. The food, the dancing, the fellowship - everything! - was so perfect. How is it possible to smile and laugh and love so much?! I grabbed this picture of the new Mr. and Mrs. from my sister's Facebook page. Aren't they adorable!!?

So with the wedding dispensed, I can now reveal the quilt I made for the newlyweds and some of you may recognize that quilt from the retreat last April at Canter's Cave.

 The pattern is called Blue Lagoon (details in this post) and is jelly roll-friendly. I had a Minick and Simpson jelly roll along with a neutral background and finished the top at retreat. I added borders which were not part of the quilt instructions, because I wanted a larger quilt. Click here to read about the retreat sewing.

I quilted this quilt on my friend Terry's longarm machine about three weeks ago. (Read about it here.) I don't recommend closely inspecting the workmanship, but if you do, please be kind. It is entirely freehand loopy meander quilting and I was totally winging it. Rookie effort, you know?

The backing gave me a bit of a challenge. I knew I would have to piece it, and I put together a backing I thought I could live with, but at the last minute I changed my mind. I took out one whole section and added the lighter blue print shown above. I was much more satisfied with it.  I also used that lighter blue as the binding.

Early in August, I gave the bride a preview of her wedding gift, when my bridal shower gift was pillows and pillow cases made to match the quilt; not exact matching, but close enough.

I have been missing from the blog for several days. I am guessing that as I move on into the meat of the semester, this will be normal. I will do my darnedest to stay caught up with both school work and quilting and blogging.

One more pic from the wedding - my siblings and I teamed up for a fun picture at the reception. Tell me, is there some familial resemblance here or what?!? The groom's mother is in front. We may have had a good time. *wink*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Post-Wedding Mode

Happy Memorial Day, Readers! Thank you to our veterans for their sacrifices! Remember them at your celebrations today.

We are all still in post-wedding mode around here. The weekend was simply fantastic. The Good Lord blessed us with a perfect sunny, 70-degree day. All the events, from manicures and hairdos to rehearsal, wedding and reception, went off without a hitch. This was one organized bride, to be sure. She did not get this from her mother; I think my grandmother may be the most organized woman of all time, so perhaps Erin got some of those genes.

Here are a few pictures from our big event.

Tower bells at St. Mary Catholic Church in German Village, Columbus, chimed in the background as the new couple was introduced and kissed on the church steps. Erin is rocking her bouquet.

Jeff and Erin greet guests outside the church. Note the "wild beet" bridesmaids dresses, and her spectacular bouquet. She has an artistic eye for color and used it to her fullest advantage.

I rarely post pictures of myself, but here I am with my husband, the parents of the bride. This was at the rehearsal dinner.

I will try not to overload the blog with wedding stuff, but I might ask you to indulge me a few more over the coming weeks. As the professional photography comes in, I am sure there will be more I want to share.

Lots of sewing this coming week for the craft fair on Saturday. That will get me re-focused!

Happy Quilting, Friends!
Jayne

It's Wedding Day!

Of course I'm not writing this in "real time." I wrote this post on Wednesday and scheduled it for Saturday. Our daughter Erin will be marrying her sweetheart Jeff this afternoon. Wanna' sneak peek??

These are pictures of one of the fittings - from March, if I recall. I promise to share a few from the real deal!!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Wedding Sewing

Over the last couple of days I have had to carve out some time to do alterations and sewing for the upcoming wedding. My rehearsal dinner dress, hubby's suit pants, Emma's maid of honor dress - all these needed to have minor things fixed.

Yesterday, the last thing to check off the sewing list - make a ring bearer's pillow.

The fabrics: white cotton, tulle from the bride's veil, and - what?? - Kaffe Fassett fabric?? Yes, that's right. The bride wanted a tiny piping of this KF fabric. How awesome is that??

It went together quite nicely, and I think the piping looks just magnificent. I sent a picture to Erin, who asked me to "tuft" the center with two ribbons. That is what you see below.

I am packing a sewing kit. I can just see this ribbon coming loose, or the tuft popping. I want to be prepared for any eventually.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

The Wedding Day Approaches!

We are just 2 weeks away from the big wedding day for my DD Erin. Last Saturday, DD Emma, the maid of honor, pulled off a really fun bachelorette party for the bride and the bridesmaids. Moms were welcome at the dinner portion of the evening, and it looked to me like everyone was having a wonderful time.

Here are my precious daughters, complete with their Minnie Mouse ears. Erin and Jeff will be going to Disney World on their honeymoon, so the theme for the evening was everything princess.

And here is the bride with a little surprise for the bar-hopping portion of the evening. This is the part that I opted out of! I think they had a lot of fun - the bars close at 2am, and they got in at 2:30! Yes, they had a designated driver.

The wedding preparations are nearly complete. I think Erin has done a pretty good job of planning this shindig! It will be here before we know it!

Happy Quilting, Friends!