Monday, May 24, 2010

Bloggers Quilt Festival ~ Spring 2010




Here is my entry for the Bloggers Quilt Festival ~ Spring 2010
The quilt has been more of an adventure and trauma than I ever imagined quilting would be.  I have only done 2 doll quilts prior to this and I know now I am very much a quilting newbie!  

I have wanted to do this quilt for quite some time. And although its not fancy or perfect every stitch is made with love. Here is the story of how it came to be.

When we first heard that Ethan had been diagnosed with Diffuse Pontine Glioma, a brain stem tumor, we were devastated for Ethan and his family.  Jon, his step dad, is a friend of ours through an archery forum and was our first friend when we moved to Delaware. Ethan was diagnosed in December of 2008 at only 8 years old.  After 14 months of bravely fighting this horrible tumor he became an Angel in January of 2010. You can click on his photo to read more about his brave battle.  I knew immediately that I wanted to do a photo memory quilt to give to his big brother Jacob.  I designed a photo collage on adobe illustrator cs4 and headed on over to www.spoonflower.com to have it printed out. I had it printed on the cotton sateen which turned out fabulous.  That was the easy part. I designed the pattern of the quilt myself as I am a rogue and don't like following patterns.  The top went together well, but I did run into a few snags.  I will never use tear a way quilt piecing or wash away stabilizer and I will always prewash everything. I could go into details but reliving it is harsh.  I did free motion quilting following a continuous line stencil for part of it and just free handing the rest.  I also added Jacob and Ethan's names in applique at the top.  It certainly isn't perfect but I hope that it will be well loved regardless.  I have to say it turned out well for my first full sized quilt and I know I will continue with quilting.  I will be presenting the quilt to Jacob later on this week. Smaller thumbnails are clickable.
<strong>Ethan Max Williams - 08/08/01 - 01/28/10</strong>
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7 comments:

SewCalGal said...

Thanks for sharing your story. Hugs. Beautiful quilt.

SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

O'Quilts said...

This is what quilting is all about. Great job and good heart.

Jennifer said...

Quilts can be so healing! Your quilt is so special and the story behind it makes it even more special.

Jennifer :)

Christine said...

Thank you so much. After reading lots of inspiring stories about quilts I am happy with my quilt and that I was brave enough to attempt it!

marlene@ByTheSeam said...

I am in tears. What a wonderful story. I am sure that the family will cherish that quilt. Thanks for sharing it.

Allie said...

Great quilt, with a great story! I'm sure it will be well loved.

Barb said...

Thanks for sharing your personal story. What a wonderful quilt!
thanks too for commenting on our festival quilts. Your settings are for "no reply" on comments, I'm glad I came over to your blog. I love your background!