The quilt I’ve made for my son is finished and I couldn’t be happier. I wrote about my beginning steps here and I’m quite excited that I finished with time to spare; he doesn’t leave for another month. I’ve made other patchwork pieces over the years but this piece truly went together as promised in the book The Practical Guide to Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman. Step by step is the way to go and Elizabeth makes it clear with great photographs, drawings and instructions. A new friend did a beautiful job of the machine quilting and got me started on the binding which I finished last evening.
My son will take it with him to University of Montana this fall and it will probably never look like this again, but that’s okay. The whole history behind quilts is all about their durability and warmth due to the layers of fabrics and stitching. I think this one may just last many many years, particularly because it’s also made with love. Better used than tucked away.
The back of the quilt was fun because it’s truly a patchwork. I was considering what fabric to use and realized just how many scraps I had left over and decided to make use of them. I just kept piecing strips and pieces, watching it grow until it fit. One piece not used on the front was a black and white web design, a little nod to my son’s love of Spiderman. Subtle, but it’s there just for him. I love personal touches so I signed the back of the quilt with Love, from Mom.
And with that, off he will go to college, leaving me with a very empty nest.
