Blogger's Quilt Festival

Amy of Amy's Creative Side has once again organized the online Blogger's Quilt Festival that is so full of inspiration and wonder. My entry is my latest finished quilt, which was a wedding gift for some very special people, Drew and Dee.  Drew, the groom, is the son of very dear friends, and we have known him all his life.  He and Dee met in middle school, started dating in high school, dated for a long time, then were apart, came together again, and finally were engaged.  Of course I wanted to make them a quilt to celebrate.

The quilt was inspired by this Malka Dubrawsky design in the American Patchwork & Quilting August 2012 issue.  It seemed right for the modern young couple in mind, although the blocks were rather larger than I desired so I redrafted the pattern to make them finish at 24" instead of nearly 36".

Choosing the fabrics is my favorite part!  The green dot, red oriental, and teal ginkgo prints were from stash and the other prints found at JoAnn's Fabrics.  I especially loved the mustard print.

The blocks came together quickly--the hard part was finalizing the layout.  My readers were very helpful in voting for the best one.  Here my quilting assistant Mini aided me in photography on a windy day.

I opted for the same narrow-spaced wavy line quilting that the designer had used.

All finished!

The bride is of Mexican heritage and the self-printed postage stamp on their Save the Date card included Drew in sombrero and false mustache, and Dee in skeleton face makeup. That was the inspiration for using this Dia de los Muertos Alexander Henry print called Zocalo, which ended up being the quilt's name as well.

Serendipitously, the colors matched the top perfectly.  I used the grass print cut crosswise to simulate a striped binding.  Drew and Dee's Santa Barbara wedding was full of warmth, charm, humor, and love.  I eagerly awaited word about whether they liked the quilt, and the bride obliged by replying that they loved the quilt, and sent action shots of the gift in use.

Dee explained that the above shot is what usually happens when they cuddle under a quilt on the sofa:  she reads and Drew crashes out!

And here they are toasting each other as husband and wife.   Our best wishes for many happy snuggling hours ahead!

Blogger's Quilt Festival Stats:

Finished quilt measures:  48" x 72"

Quilted by:  Self

Best Category:  Throw Quilt, Home Machine Quilted Quilt