Two years ago, I began piecing a quilt for Beatrix. She was just a wee babe. I wanted to make something useful for her, that she could keep, and pass down to her own children one day.
I consider myself to be a basic sewist. I like to sew, but I don't make anything fancy, thank you very much. So I started piecing what seemed to me to be the simplest of quilts: a stacked coin. It was very easy (and fun) to sew together. I enjoyed picking out the fabrics. I enjoyed the simplicity of the print rectangles bordered by the crisp white. The back side was inspired mostly by Denise Schmidt and her lovely modern designs.
Last fall, after I made both the front and back of the quilt, I began hand quilting it, but I never finished. Instead, it sat in different spots of our tiny home, collecting dust and fur from our cat. He even went as far as shredding up the edges of the wool batting. Naughty kitty - he just couldn't help himself. This awkward sandwich of unfinished quilt sat and sat and weighed heavy on my mind. I knew I needed help with it. I felt defeated in my attempts. I shied away from admiring other quilts on the web or refused to let myself think "quilt" at all because I already had this unfinished project taking up precious space in my closet and my conscience.
Until...this fall, when we moved into our new house, I discovered that I lived just a few blocks away from a wonderful little quilt shop. And so, finally, in December, I mustered up my courage and brought my quilt to the shop so that the owner and quilter, Glenna, could take a look at it. I was sort of embarassed by my incomplete, and imperfect efforts. It was obvious I had a thing or two to learn before successfully completing a quilt on my own. For one, the back side was smaller than the front side, so I needed to add borders to make it the proper dimension. Also, I was quilting it together slightly crooked. Glenna, was also going to have to trim the torn pieces of batting and baste new batting to the trimmed up edges. It seemed like a lot of work to me - much more than I would have realistically been able to do well.
Last week, I recieved the call to let me know that the quilt was DONE. I raced over the very same day to pick it up.
I'm so glad I asked for help in completing this project. It came out so sweet and just perfect for Beatrix. It's truly heirloom quality! This is her quilt. She loves it. I love it. With it having a wool batting, it provides a warm substantial layer to her bed, keeping her cozy on the coldest of nights. I love peeking into her room while she is sleeping to see her nestled up in it. I can only imagine the use this quilt will get over its lifetime. To know, that this is just the beginning of a very long story...
