Sister-in-law Quilts

I’m a big fan of Gone With the Wind.  Most people who know me, know that.  So a few years back when I was invited to join a quilt swap of Civil War Reproduction 9 patches, entitled ‘A Quilt for Melanie Wilkes’, I jumped in on it without hesitation.

And I LOVE the quilt I ended up with.  It’s huge, about king size, and it’s got such a great assortment of fabrics, so many more than I could collect on my own.  I sent it to Randi Allen in TX to quilt it, and she did a great job with it, an all over swirly star pattern, perfect for the patriotic theme of the fabric.

Anyway, I’m so pleased with this quilt.  It’s really a workhorse quilt.  I often have a hard time using quilts that I’ve made because I’m so afraid they’re going to get torn up, or stained.  And after all the time and money that went into them, I want them to stay nice.  But this quilt is different.  It’s quite pretty to look at it, but understated.  It’s not flashy or showy, but the beauty is in the details; when you notice the quilting, or pick up on a really unique print in it.  It’s been used quite a bit. It’s super warm in the winter, and huge, so the perfect quilt to huddle under with my family to spend time together watching a movie. It’s the perfect quilt to haul to my husband’s ball games.  It’s big enough that all my girlfriends and their kids can sit on it and chitchat.  And it’s such a great blend of colors, no one would ever notice if something got spilled on it or stained.  It really encourages fellowship and friendship.  It’s very soft and a perfect amount of worn-in feeling.

And I think that’s what Melly would have wanted.

 

Several years ago there was a line of Gone With the Wind fabric that came out, and I snatched up a bunch of it.  I didn’t get around to actually making a quilt top out of it until a couple of weeks ago.  I used this great pattern by Violet Craft, that I modified just a bit to accomodate some of my larger prints.  In contrast, I call this my ‘Quilt for Scarlett O’Hara’.

Different from my Melanie Quilt, this quilt will not see a lot of hard work.  This one prefers to just be admired and look pretty.  I think I’m going to have it custom quilted, it needs that special touch.  I want the quilting to be showy, dramatic, definitely something to be noticed.  This quilt will just be draped around the house somewhere, a life of luxury.

And I think that’s what Scarlett would have wanted.

So, PS…I need a long-arm quilter.  Someone preferably who loves Gone With the Wind so they can help me capture the essence of Scarlett in the quilting.  I’m thinking perhaps some of her phrases in the sashing?  Know anyone?  Send them my way!

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