Out of the Box

If you have been reading this blog very long at all you probably have noticed what type of quilts I like to make. These two are a bit out of my usual comfort zone. I saw a lecture by Mary Lou Weidman and was inspired to create and design a quilt for my daughter's graduation. I had about a year from idea to graduation and this is what I came up with. All the fabrics and the applique are all about her and what she liked to do at the time. Singing was a huge part of high school, followed by our cat, her red car (which she still drives) and cheerleading. In case you are wondering Opal is not her middle name but we considered it before she was born. Her brother has always teased her about that.


Seven years later my niece told me she would like something similar for her graduation. Well, I realized after the first quilt that designing was better left to the pros, but I attempted to make a quilt with a lot of personality for her.
This is what I came up with. She too was into music, cheerleading and animals so I made sure those elements were in here, but reserved a lot of words and fun for the quilting. It was almost a Where's Waldo kind of thing. I used Gwen Marston's liberated piecing for the stars and had a lot of fun making this.

These types are definitely out of the box for me, but I do enjoy it, especially when I know they appreciate my quilts.