Showing posts with label 100 Good Wishes Quilts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 100 Good Wishes Quilts. Show all posts

July 3, 2020

A 100 Good Wishes Quilt for Ellis

By    7:58 AM // 11 comments
My longtime blog readers know that I started quilting because of the ancient Chinese 100 Good Wishes Quilt tradition and because of that, I've been able to make a number of 100 Good Wishes Quilts for the daughters of friends.

This one was for Kris' daughter Ellis and it was a birthday gift this year.
It's always the layout for these quilts that takes me the longest to do in order to have the colors spread nicely across the entire top.
Once the sashing was sewn between the blocks, the blocks sewn together and the outer border added, it was ready to go on the frame.  This is the "Before" photo.
The "After" photo.  To this day I'm still in awe of the difference the quilting makes.
Kris found onlinethis absolutely gorgeous Plum Blossom fabric for the backing that she purchased and had shipped to me.
I love this backing fabric so much that I'm strongly considering buying some of it for myself.  For this quilt it truly was the perfect choice. Her Chinese name means Plum Blossom. 
Kris left the binding fabric choice up to me and once I had the backing in hand I was able to take it to one of my local quilt stores to find something that worked.  I fell in love with the Green print which matched so well with the Green Plum blossom branches.
This is Ellis when she received the quilt.  I think she's happy.
These 100 Good Wishes Quilts are truly an honor for me to make.  I so understand all the pent up hopes and dreams that they meant as we all waited to bring our children home. 
I'm thrilled that Kris finally sent me her squares so this quilt could be created.  None of the squares we all collected during that time should sit in a box waiting.  At least these squares aren't waiting any longer.

June 24, 2017

A new finish - 100 Good Wishes Quilt for Isabella

By    6:31 AM // 7 comments
I believe I made someone cry yesterday.  But they were happy tears so it's ok. 
This afternoon Kim received the bigger 100 Good Wishes Quilt for Isabella. 

As with the pieces for the small cuddle size quilt I received from Kim to remake, the same person who attempted to make this quilt made a mess of these pieces too. Thankfully it wasn't a huge chore to undo what she did and start over again. 

Just like the original plan for the smaller quilt this quilt too was to have a black tone on tone Chinese calligraphy fabric for the sashing. I believed that it would have made the entire quilt feel very dark so Kim was happy to let me recommend something else.  I chose Moda Marbles in Vanilla.   Here is an in process photo. 
The finished quilt top came together easily enough. Since I had to recut the blocks to get them square and straight the max size I was able to cut them to was 4 1/4" (3 3/4" finished). To keep the scale appropriate I used 1 3/4" sashing (1 1/4"finished).  The border was cut at 4".  
I found the perfect backing fabric that Kim just loved (you'll see it below). When planning to quilt it I had a couple of specific pantos in mind but when I auditioned them, both were too busy for the scale and simplicity of this one.  Luckily I had one more that turned out to be perfect. It is Seaside and it provided just the right feel on this quilt.
So without further ado, this is the completed quilt.
Once the binding was complete we had nothing but rain here for many days so I had to wait to get pictures of it.  As soon as the sun came out I hurried to take the shots but the shadows from the house didn't help to show the true colors.
I always like to get some fun "wind blown" pictures but the wind wasn't cooperating much that day.  This was the best I could do.
That perfect backing I mentioned?  This is it (though it's tough to see from this angle).  Kim finds great peace at the beach so I found a print in soft calming tones with a scene of sand dunes, boats on the water and beach chairs.  I love it and Kim does too.
Here you can see better the print on the backing along with the two embroidered blocks I received that I decided to use as the quilt label.
This picture taken inside better shows the lovely texture of the quilting.
The Seaside panto definitely gives a feeling of waves over this beachy scene.
It was a pleasure to finally make this quilt for Kim and Isabella and I know that it will be treasured for years to come.

April 22, 2017

Cuddle size 100 Good Wishes Quilt for Isabella

By    6:52 AM // 10 comments
I've had this post in draft for way too long but our Girl Scout cookie season, which is thankfully almost over, has kept me super busy and away from all things quilty. Not it's time to get back to normal life.

Kim found me through Facebook when my friend Lisa posted pictures of the 100 Good Wishes Quilt that I made for her daughter Alex and asked me if I could make a quilt for her too. Actually she wanted 2 quilts, a smaller cuddle size quilt and a bigger one too.

This is the cuddle size quilt all completed.
But the story isn't that simple.  While talking to Kim to learn what her vision was for the quilts I learned that someone else actually started making the quilts for her many years ago.  Kim tried to describe what was already done but I just couldn't visualize it so I had her just send me everything so that I can assess the situation better and formulate a plan and a budget for her.

This is what I found when I opened the box.
A load "Agggg" coming from me doesn't fully describe this "quilt" top.  The person who did this cut pieces approximately 2" x 3" from each of the fabrics, obviously not using a ruler to do so, pinned them onto the black background fabric not in straight lines, and then zig zag stitched some of them in place.  Who knows why she didn't finish this but I'm really glad she didn't.  Unfortunately it took Kim a really long time to get everything back from that person and she's just held onto it for years, hoping one day to find someone who could really create the quilts she envisioned.

After unsewing all the pieces that were sewn down I proceeded to recut them using the proper tools.  I cut them as big as I could which turned out to be 1 3/4" x 2 3/4".   I sorted the pieced by color so that I could get a good sense of how to balance them throughout the entire quilt.
Included in the box was also a black tone on tone dragonfly fabric that Kim had used when she sent out squares and wishes to other waiting adoptive parents and there was just barely enough to use for the sashing so that's what I went with.  Here's the quilt in process with the vertical sashing between the pieces and those rows completed.
Once the horizontal sashing rows were added this was the finished top. Can you see the dragonflies on the black fabric?
Kim had included in the box also a package of batting and a piece of pink minky fabric for the backing so it was quick work to spray baste the quilt sandwich together.
After auditioning a bunch of different quilting design ideas that were all either too big a motif or too detailed for the small quilt I tested some basic straight line quilting and immediately knew that it was the right choice.  The simplicity of that suited the tiny piecing well and didn't overpower.
I've heard tons of issues quilters have had using minky on the back, mostly when quilting with it on a frame, but since I was quilting this on my domestic machine Lucy, I had no issues at all.  A couple of embroidered pieces were also included in Kim's box so I centered the one with the name on the back as it would have been too large for the overall feel of the front.  This quilt finished at 29" x 43".
It took a few days of nasty overcast weather before I got a decent window to get outside for the glamor shots and then it was shipped off to Kim who was thrilled with the result.  As expected, she cried, to finally have a quilt that she's dreamed about for the last 10 years.
It has meant a lot to me to be able to turn Kim's dream into a reality.  100 Good Wishes Quilts are more than just fabric and thread.  They encompass so many hopes and dreams of the adoptive parents and kids who they are made for and truly wrap a child in the love and good wishes of all those who's fabrics are included.

The bigger version quilt for Kim is in the works.  I was making good progress on it until CA day = cookie arrival but since that season is almost over, I can finally get back to finishing it and getting it on it's way to it's new home.  Stay tuned for that reveal soon.

May 18, 2016

Jammer's 100 Good Wishes Quilt

By    2:07 PM // 11 comments
Nine years ago today, after 28 hours of traveling to the other side of the world, we woke up in Ho Chi Minh City and a few hours later, this tiny little cutie was placed in my arms and we became his parents forever.  I will never, ever forget that moment. 
It seems only fitting to share for the first time on the blog his 100 Good Wishes Quilt.  Although it has been done for years, I was only recently able to get pictures of it.  Why?  Because it is huge!
(Warning...there are a lot of pictures in this post).

This is THE quilt....the one that really started my journey to becoming a quilter.  Well actually, total truth to be told, it was the 100 Good Wishes Quilt for Sunshine (that has yet to be made) that really started it, but since Jammer came home first, his quilt was made first. 
The first fussy cuts of the blocks started in July 2010.  To say that I was nervous and my hand shook a little as I made the first cut is an huge understatement.  Something that I had been planning for many years was about to become a reality.
The family room floor of our previous house was put into use a lot as I was laying out the blocks.
 
When it came time to find backing fabric, I came across this great dark Red Fusions at my LQS and bought all they had left on the bolt. Since I needed more to make it big enough, I found the  Brown leaf fabric and they looked perfect together.
To show you just how big it is, here it is on our king size bed.  It finished at 116" x 130".  Yes I was insane at the time and wanted the blocks bigger...now I know better....but I still love it.
As is the intent of a 100 Good Wishes Quilt, I can identify most of the fabrics and exactly who they came from.  Jammer can identify a lot of them too.
Since we are the center of his world, at the very center of the quilt I put the 4 blocks from me and my hubby, his are the 2 fire department ones and mine are the 2 with lobsters on them.
Surrounding those 4 are the squares from our immediate family and closest friends.  These are just a few of my favorites:
This one was from my youngest sister.  Her son drew it as part of a school art project and she had it printed onto a piece of fabric.
My mom's mom passed away many years before we started the adoption process but I was able to have her represented in the quilt after my mom gave me a box of fabrics that were hers from when she used to make Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls.  I think this was from one of her aprons.
My mom aka Nanny gave us this adorable frog reading print. Reading with the grandkids has always been something she loves to do.
Uncle Tom (Chuck's one and only sibling) was living in Hawaii at the time so this was his contribution.  We are sure that bringing Jammer home was his incentive to move back to the area.
My other grandmother knew we were adopting and gave us a piece of this Holly Hobby fabric.  She actually passed away at the age of 95 the morning after learning that we had received Jammer's referral.  So that she could be represented in both kids' quilts I searched online for months and eventually was able to purchase a 2nd piece of this same fabric for Sunshine's quilt.  
My nephew Danny, who many of you remember the story of his tragic death at barely 16, is remembered in the quilt buy this Spiderman piece....his favorite character. 
And this block, just one of so many more in the quilt from other waiting parents who have eventually become friends, is from my BFF.  Little did we know at the time that I was collecting the fabrics and wishes just how special some of the people would become in our lives. 
That is exactly what a 100 Good Wishes Quilt is all about ......the personal connections we have to the people who's squares make up the quilt.
This quilt weighs a ton and even with a pillow tuck, it skims the floor.  The reason I made it bigger than the typical kids' quilt.  I wanted him to use it longer than when he is a kid.
I guess I overdid it just a tad.
When I was sewing the blocks and rows together, I had no plans for the borders but the pieced one finished it off perfectly.
All those years ago, I had a specific vision for the background and sashing fabrics.  After traveling to every single quilt store in my area,  I found what I was after and to this day, I'm still thrilled with the way it turned out. 
Since this quilt is so big, the only place that I could find where I could take a full picture of it was at my sister Tina's house.  When I took this picture, I was standing on the ground and my 2 brothers-in-law were holding it while standing on the 2nd story deck.
I still get a little teary just looking at this quilt and it will forever be my greatest accomplishment....because it brought our adoption story and my quilting life full circle.

February 10, 2016

Alex's 100 Good Wishes Quilt - A finish

By    4:21 PM // 8 comments
I finally have a finish to share with you and this one has been a really long time in the making.....to the tune of almost 10 years.
This is a very special 100 Good Wishes Quilt for my friend Lisa's daughter Alex.
This quilt took 10 years to become a reality because, like me, Lisa started collecting squares of fabric from friends, family and others waiting to bring their daughters home in the Spring of 2006, after our document files officially arrived in China.

Lisa and Alex finally became a family almost exactly a year after we arrived home with Sunshine and when she asked me just over a year ago if I'd be willing to make this quilt for her daughter, I was truly honored.  Lisa and I were brought together by our adoptions and to be a part of this very meaningful gift for her Alex means the world to me.

I started with this pretty stack of squares, many of which are also in Jammer's 100 Good Wishes Quilt and will be in Sunshine's too (when I eventually get around to making hers) since we were in some of the same swap groups.
Lisa and I looked through a lot of ideas for 100 Good Wishes Quilts and once she chose which one spoke to her, I set to work, first by sorting the pieces into color families to see what I had to work with.
I paired up similar colors diagonally in the 4 patches, coordinating the other pair with complimenting colors.
The blocks went together quickly and the sashing was added to one side. Then it was time to lay out the blocks for final placement.  As you can see, I had some "help".
The top was actually finished last summer and then waited for Lisa to decide what she wanted for the backing.  She originally focused on a bright teal from one of the blocks but after hunting all over and not finding what she envisioned, she went in another direction and found a backing right before Christmas that ended up working really well.
I chose the Flying Paisley Panto for this and I like the way it compliments the overall design.  It is tough to actually see in these photos, but the white sashing and borders is actually a White tone on tone print with small paisleys on it.
Finding a good thread color for such a scrappy quilt wasn't easy but in the end I chose an Off White So Fine.  It clashed less with the darker fabrics than a pure White did and it still looks great against the white fabrics.
The backing Lisa picked was this Tangerine Aboriginal Dot and it looked great with all the bright and fun prints on the front plus the pale Yellow batik Lisa brought me that I used for the cornerstones turned out to coordinate perfectly for the binding.
I used an Orange thread on the black that blends in so all you see is wonderful texture.
Right now the finished quilt is whisking its way to them in the midwest and I can't wait to hear their thoughts when they see it for the first time.
This quilt actually has 144 wishes in it and it finished at 93" x 93".

Each 100 Good Wishes Quilt that I create brings with it so much emotion as I remember the many days, weeks, months and years that we waited to bring our babies home.  There is so much hope and longing wrapped up in those small squares. From now on Alex will be able to look her quilt and match the squares up with the wishes written to her and know that she is truly wrapped up in love.
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