Category: Quilting
Type of item: Functional
For: Other
Style: Traditional, Casual, Funky, Cute
Materials
Cotton fabric scraps and thread, polyester wadding.
What was your inspiration?
My former boss and good friend, Miranda, is (like me,) a cat lover. She and her husband had two much-loved cats, Jefferson (for some reason named for Thomas Jefferson), a ginger boy, and BeBe (short for Baltimore Belle), a fluffy black girl. Every year in April, on Jefferson's birthday, Miranda would give a luncheon party for friends in his honour. Those invited came bearing gifts for Jefferson and BeBe but both of them were very fussy eaters and the "treats" they were given were often handed on to me for my boy, Rupert, who will eat almost anything and be grateful. It was therefore a little difficult to know what to give Jefferson as a birthday present and, having just learnt to quilt, for his 18th birthday I hit upon the idea of making a little quilt for Jefferson. I already had a number of scraps left over from my first efforts at patchwork and this is the result, which was very enthusiastically received - particularly by BeBe, who immediately leapt upon it and took it over! Sadly, Jefferson passed away last year at the ripe old age of 21, but Bebe still loves the quilt.
What are you most proud of?
Making something that was a surprise gift and was so well received! I hadn't really done any FMQ previously and had some fun, quilting a treble clef (Miranda's husband is a very talented concert pianist - there is some fabric included that has music on it - actually Rachmaninoff - my husband identified it when he put it on the piano and played it when I first brought it home) , plus a fish skeleton, and other bits and pieces on it.
What advice would you give someone starting this project?
No matter how small your leftover bits and pieces, don't throw them away (as if any quilter would!), but save them for little projects for dolls or cats. Or, possibly, dogs - but not having any dogs I don't know if patchwork quilts are what they would like, or if they would last very long!
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