Finished Wedding Quilt

Just in time for "our first married" Christmas, I finished the guestbook quilt from our wedding.

I posted a few months ago about the first steps of creating this quilt.  Finishing it was the challenge - I was intimidated by the large size and the idea of maneuvering it around my sewing table and my small home machine.  The last few queen-sized quilts that I've made left me with sore arms and resolute that I would only make baby quilts from now on!

But I wasn't about to send this away to a long arm quilter - I had to finish it myself!  With patience, it came together just fine.  There were some sore arms, of course, but it was all worth it to spend so many hours lovingly stitching this together.  I think part of the difference was that I'm a more seasoned quilter now - I have a better grasp on how to approach a large project like this, and stronger free-motion quilting skills. Sometimes it's hard to notice this progress because it builds up incrementally with each project.  But then I pull off something like this and think, "wow, look what I can do!"

I even sewed the binding on by hand, which I wouldn't normally do on a quilt this large. But stitching the binding has long been my favorite part of the quilting process, and I wanted to take the time to do right by this quilt.

I love it.  It matches our bedroom perfectly, and is a wonderful reminder of the joy, coziness, and love that pervaded our wedding day.

Thanks to all of our friends and family who created squares to be a part of this quilt.  It is so special, and we'll treasure it forever.

My Wedding Quilt

Quilts are at the heart of it all for me.  They represent so many things - comfort, love, family, tradition, creativity, self-expression, joy, and coziness.

So naturally quilts had to have a role in my wedding.

I already posted the quilts that I created to thank my wedding party.  But there was another significant quilt that was part of the big wedding planning process: my own wedding quilt.

A fellow member of my quilt guild shared at a guild meeting that she made a quilt guest book for her daughter's wedding, and I filed this away in my "must do" ideas long before Ian and I were engaged.

Our guests wrote on pre-cut fabric squares backed in freezer paper (for stabilization) with fabric pens.  Some wrote sweet notes, some wrote silly sayings, and some drew adorable scenes for us.  Then they displayed them on clothesline for everyone to admire.

It was so fun to read them all once we got home, and to start thinking about how we would lay them out!  I used a program called Threadbias to envision some possibilities...

And once we decided on a design, it didn't take long to piece it together.

The quilt is traveling now to a few homes of loved ones who couldn't make it to the wedding, or were so busy dancing and chatting that they didn't make it over to the guest book.  In the meantime, I'll work on the back and hopefully have it ready to cozy up our bed before the winter!

My Wedding

It's finally time to share some highlights from my wedding in May.

When Ian and I first started our wedding planning process, we talked about what words would describe what we wanted our wedding to be and came up with this description: an intimate, delicious, casual, meaningful, and whimsical celebration of love, family, and community.

We used this as our guiding statement in making the one hundred million decisions that are required in the wedding planning process, and in the end this description permeated every part of the wedding, from our incredibly perfect, unique wedding invitations, to the venue (the perfect mix of Rhode Islandy & Vermonty), to the amazing photos taken by Matt Ferrara Photography.  And of course, the dots - there had to be dots!

Without further ado, I'll let those photos speak for themselves.

Happy House Quilt

Sometimes, I'm so excited to deliver a quilt that I completely forget to properly photograph it!

This quilt/wall hanging is for our friends Kelly and Nicole, to celebrate their recent wedding.  When Ian and I were married a few months ago, some of the most special gifts and cards we received were a play on our wedding invitation, so I wanted to do something like that for Kelly and Nicole.  

I appliquéd the buds on the invitation, and added a sweet little house to celebrate that they just settled in to a lovely new home together. These colors are so them - bright, joyful, and exuberant!

Congrats, Kelly and Nicole!

Hannah's Quilt

The final quilt I made in preparation for the wedding was for Hannah, our amazing wedding officiant.

I met Hannah through my life coaching certification program - we connected right away, and it was clear to me that she is a wise and loving lady.  

So here they are, all three quilts together: Monica's quilt, Hannah's quilt, and Alyssa's quilt!

Alyssa's Quilt

The second bridesmaid quilt that I made was for Alyssa.

She is a fantastically talented illustrator, and was so generous to create THE CUTEST illustration of us for our wedding invitation:

It perfectly summed up the joyful and whimsical vibe of our wedding.  And it looks exactly like us!  

Alyssa creates custom illustrations for baby and wedding gifts, and she has an array of playful and poignant greeting cards.  Check out some of her adorable designs in her Etsy Shop.

This is the quilt that I made to thank her for the illustration and everything else she did to support us and our wedding.

I revealed this quilt earlier this year, since it was part of the Madrona Road Challenge through the Modern Quilt Guild.  But I designed it from the beginning for Alyssa - the colors are so beautiful and serene, and the layout so simple and clean.  It reminds me of Alyssa's living room.

More fun free-motion quilting here: pebbles and boxes.

The back might be my favorite.  The chevron print that I echoed on the front holds it all down.

Alyssa was so calming throughout the wedding planning process.  She always helped me stay focused on what it's all about.

Here's hoping this quilt brings her the same comfort that she generously gave to me.  Love you, Alyssa! Thank you so much!

Monica's Quilt

I wrote a few months ago about how I came to realize during the wedding planning process that I needed to carve out the time to be in my studio - that it is essential to my process of recharging and reinvigorating myself.

So what better way to build it in to my life than to add quilting to the ginormous wedding to do list?

Sundays were my sacred day: no tea dates, grocery shopping, or even leaving the house.  Just wide open studio time, and countless episodes of Gossip Girl.

I made three quilts: two for my bridesmaids and one for our wonderful officiant.  It was such a natural way for me to express my gratitude to these wise, loving ladies who supported us all along the way.  When I give someone a quilt, it feels like I'm giving them a piece of my heart. It was the perfect way to take a step back, make space for reflection, and feel all of the love surrounding Ian and me.

Here's the first one: Monica's quilt.  

She is such a warm, optimistic, and passionate person - bright, sunny colors and patterns always make me think of her.

I had some fun with my new Angela Walters books - trying out some fun quilting patterns..loops, cobblestones, and connected boxes.

This quilt is the perfect size for curling up on the couch with a good book.

Just a simple large print on the back.

Monica is the creative genius behind Monicakes Bakery.  She was SO generous to make Monicakes as our wedding favors - a perfect and unique tasty treat for everyone!

Enjoy Monica!  I love you so much!