More Wedding Collaborations...

Making a group quilt for someone who is getting married in your church is a lovely idea. That's what I (Kara) thought after we had done Teri's quilt and then found out that there would be another wedding in our church the following year. The lady who had done Teri's quilt wasn't able to work on this one, so I took the reins. I chose some lovely companion fabrics, set the parameters for the blocks, and sent the information out along with deadlines as to when I needed the blocks in hand. Let's just say the deadlines were interpreted as guidelines, and collecting the blocks was a little more difficult than I had anticipated. I finally received all the blocks and was able to assemble the quilt top. A few friends came over, and we tied and bound the quilt. The quilt was given to a wonderful young woman at her wedding shower, and she was thrilled. And with the second collaboration quilt, a tradition was started within the church.

Not too long after this quilt was presented, we found out that another couple in our church was getting married. At this point, three of us decided that less hands involved with making the quilt might make the process a bit easier, so we each decided to do several feature blocks and then make up the rest of the quilt with signature blocks. The groom was in the Army, and the bride was musical and loved Hawaii, so that gave us some inspiration. We had the blocks available to sign at the shower and did our best to guide the signers away from the seam allowances. Thankfully the couple lives locally, so we were able to see the quilt again and get lots of pictures. We appreciate the loan of the quilt!

Our friend Pat's beautiful wedding ring block made an appearance in several wedding quilts! See Wedding Collaborations for another.

 

Of course the following year there was another wedding, and it was just Teri and I working on this one. For this quilt we decided to go with the signature quilt style and have a center picture block. The bride and groom were big beach fans, and since I was in my "landscape quilt phase," it worked perfectly to have an ocean and beach vista for the  center block. Teri worked the math for the surrounding signature blocks.

Many thanks to the bride for the photos of her quilt!

We were a bit terrified of having a finished quilt that people would sign as opposed to having people just sign individual blocks and then put the quilt together. Thankfully no one got too crazy with the pens, (we might have taken turns standing guard,) and the quilt was a hit.

By this time we had begun to get a reputation for making wedding quilts. It was a lot of work but we enjoyed it, especially because we had only done one per year. We still thought it was a special thing to do for a new couple, and it would provide them with some lovely memories of their wedding day. Then we found out that there were going to be four weddings in our church the following summer!

After we got over our shock, we decided to simplify things even more than we had been doing and went with a rail fence signature block. We picked colors for the four couples and took a roadtrip to Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, to buy fabric. That was the fun part. We each took two sets of fabrics and hunkered down to get the signature blocks done before the respective showers. We marked the 1/4" seam allowance and gave instructions not to sign in that area. Some people followed directions and some didn't, but what are you going to do? After we got all the blocks signed, we soon realized that we were not going to have the quilts done by the weddings, so we went with the etiquette rule that you have one year after the wedding to give a gift. We were in such a frenzy to get them finished that we forgot to take pictures of all of them but we do have a few.

The first of four quilts on the design wall before signing and piecing together.

We picked the colors for each quilt based on what we learned of their tastes. The other two quilts were red and green and a blue and white batik.

When the final quilt had been sent out (within the year window, barely,) Teri and I looked at each other and said, "We're done!" and our career as the church wedding quilt makers was over.

We learned a lot about making group quilts, and I'm not sure we would have done things differently, as we needed to go through the learning process of what worked for us. Both sayings, "many hands make light work" and "too many cooks spoil the broth" applied at different times. Thankfully, the amount of weddings in our church dwindled, so we didn't feel too bad about hanging up our wedding quilt needles. The biggest lessons we learned were be careful about starting a tradition, and that it's okay to end a tradition. Do you have any quilt traditions that you have started...or maybe ended? Please share some stories!

Wedding Collaborations

About 16 years ago, a friend of ours sent out an invitation asking each of us to make a quilt block for another friend who was getting married. She had picked out some beautiful fabrics and gave us some parameters for our blocks. The blocks could be done in any medium we chose, but needed to be finished to a certain size. I (Kara) had just begun to learn how to quilt so I was little nervous about what I was going to do, but the person we were making the quilt for was a good friend, and I figured she would forgive my quilting inadequacies.

Some of us got together to help Linda, the coordinator, put together the quilt. As the blocks came in, we all were amazed at the thoughtfulness behind each block. There were pieced blocks, cross-stitched, embroidered, and even painted ones. Many of the blocks needed to be brought up to the required size, so we added the coordinating fabrics to them. We ended up with 24 blocks that were all beautifully done, and each block contained a special thought for the couple. The quilt was backed and tied and then bound just in time for the wedding. It was decided that the quilt would be hung behind the cake table at the reception, and as far as we knew, the bride had no idea what we had been doing.

This lovely wedding ring block is a mini-quilt in itself!

It was a beautiful day and a beautiful wedding. It was a second marriage for the couple, and they were going to be blending their two families together making a new family of seven. All of us were thrilled for our friend and couldn't wait to see her and her new husband's face when they saw the quilt.

I will let her tell the rest of this story, because the quilt we made was for Teri!

 

Admittedly, much of that day was a happy blur, and I (Teri) remember having to be told several times to look at the quilt hanging behind the cake table. It just wasn't registering that this quilt was for us, made by so many of our friends. When we got home and had time to examine the quilt, we were overwhelmed by this act of love. We enjoyed the variety of blocks styles, reflecting so many different gifts and skills. Each block held a special meaning for us, with its own "message" from the maker—sometimes with embroidered words, and sometimes just in the design of the block.

Still, when I look at the quilt today, I am amazed. I had only just started to learn to quilt at that point, but I know that this gift had a huge part in pulling me into learning more. We have only shown a sampling of the blocks, but you can see the variety of talents in this quilt. While each block is unique and has its own story, they share one thing in common: they are a reflection of love. This quilt reminds us daily to cherish that love of friends.  And isn't that love part of the inherent beauty of a quilt? 

Do you have a story about a special quilt that you have made to give to someone, or that you have received? We'd love to hear your story!