Once upon a time I used to give all my children's teachers a quilt at the end of the year. Typically they involved handprints and they were always awesome and so much work and coordination went into them. I was so proud...but I never heard anything about if they were liked at all. So I stopped doing it. I still made bags because they are so easy, but quilts became a thing of the past. Until last year when my Son's teacher had such a rough year. But EVERY SINGLE DAY she was so positive and gave my boy a passion for learning that he was rather desperate for. I made her a quilt and at the beginning of the year she chased me down in the hall to show me my quilt. Three little kids were snuggled up under it in her reading nook reading books. She said reading under the quilt was a reward. Oh! Jeez! Is there a better use for a quilt? Or I guess I could ask are there any bad uses for quilts? Being hidden in closets or left to get dusty on a wall...those are bad uses I suppose, but I digress! This year my son's 4th grade teacher was in a pretty bad car wreck. She had just found out she was expecting a baby too. I really liked her and was so happy to see her recover and her baby thrive in her body. Well, I decided to make her a baby quilt. I had about a zillion things going on, with quilt market and pattern design deadlines, so I just quilted a whole cloth quilt. It is made with shot cotton so it will be so soft after it is washed a bunch of times.
I just quilted all over it. It was a blast to quilt. Very relaxing to just do what I totally love before leaping back into my work obligations. I think the mix of swirls and lines look really good, this will definitely be incorporated into customer quilts.
It almost looks like a landscape...hills, storm clouds, rain. I love it. Someday I will make some more.
Here is the back
Some detail too.
So, if you want to make one for your teacher... I used a yard of blue shot cotton, a little more than a yard of natural muslin for the back of the quilt and a 44x36 inch piece of thin cotton batting in request loft. I quilted it with blue thread. I chose a contrasting binding (for the binding you will need to cut five 2.5 inch strips, sew them together on the bias and press the entire length in half. Bind the quilt the way you love to do it.
Quilt it like you would draw...just go for it!
xo,
Tia
great little quilt! I'm with you -- every occasion doesn't need the work of a quilt as a gift -- usually a bag does just fine!
ReplyDeleteabsolutely Brenda!
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