Friday, January 25, 2013

IS #8: My Makin' Man

I'm posting my Inspiration Saturday post a bit early this week as my parents are visiting for the weekend and I'll be busy... plus I couldn't wait to share it with you! My birthday was this week and my dear Fiasco made me a beautiful and thoughtful present. He kept it a complete secret and I really had no idea what was coming. It was this:

A handmade quilt!
When he was a hyper little kid his mother sat him down and gave him some fabric to sew to keep him occupied... and it stuck. Over the years he's made beautiful quilts that he's given to various family members. He prefers to create quilts that portray pictures  or scenes rather than just repeating geometric shapes. This one was inspired by a marshy spot in one of our favorite places to hike in Connecticut:


He put so much thought into his gift, it is amazing. He had two of my favorite quotes from chapters of Kahlil Gibran's book-length poem, "The Prophet", embroidered and added them to the water and a cloud:



Each of the plants uses a different patterned fabric and he used light and dark green thread to create shadows and depth... and the cattail heads are even fuzzy!


 He used silvery yarn that picks up on the silver flecks in the water fabric to create circular ripples coming out from the quote like concentric rings:


He chose a flannel backing in my favorite blue-green color with a neat woven look to it:


And finally, because he knows I'm a stickler about this stuff, he made sure to use only 100% cotton fabrics and natural cotton batting! I'm certainly a lucky girl. Even though I'm a knitter and a spinner, I can't imagine having the patience to carefully and meticulously cut out strips of fabric of the correct size, iron them, pin them, zig-zag stitch them, add batting, put a back on, and quilt the whole thing together. I just can't, I'd quit at the first mention of 'iron', honestly, so it inspires me tremendously that he doesn't... that he continues on and makes something beautiful just for me!


What's inspired you lately? Link below and share!


P.S. Don't forget! All my patterns on Ravelry are 28% off through Monday with coupon code 'bdayweek'!

P.P.S. And thank you for all the birthday wishes! :)

9 comments:

  1. That quilt is so gorgeous and sweet! I had a little romantic squee moment when reading about all the love and work he put into it!

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  2. Oh my gosh!! The more I stared at the gorgeous photos of your quilt, the more my jaw dropped. I don't know that I've ever seen such a heartfelt gift. What an incredible birthday present!! Your Fiasco is quite talented, indeed!

    My great-grandmother was a quilter, and I'm so lucky to have inherited two of her quilts. Sometimes I just hold them in my lap and run my hands over the stitching, totally awe-struck. I've accepted that I'll never be a quilter myself - despite trying it several times, I'm just not meant for needle and thread - but I have so much respect for quilters and the amazing quilts they make. :)

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    1. There's nothing like handmade items from those who are no longer with us. It's a wonderful legacy, isn't it?

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  3. WOW. That is just simply amazing, and so thoughtful. You have such an amazing Fiasco. How did he even work on that without your knowledge, it looks like it took forever.

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    1. He really crammed in the work into a few short weeks, it's impressive!

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  4. that's a gorgeous quilt! he's got quite the artistic streak!

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  5. Oh the quilt is amazing. What a wonderful and thoughtful gift to give

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