Quilt Traditions

I recently completed this Tree of Life medallion quilt.  A woman contacted me to make a quilt for her grandmotherfor Christmas.  It was to be a family tree quilt which would include the names of her family in it. She didn’t have any other specifications except that the fabrics were to be of French Country design.  I immediately thought of the tree of life quilt pattern.  It is set on point, with the names embroidered in the small border which frames the tree.   What a lovely idea and what a nice heirloom piece to give to one’s grandmother!  Needless to say, I had sooooo much fun doing it and half the fun is pleasing the customer!

A few years ago, I was commissioned by a woman to finish her mother’s cathedral window wall hanging which was 3/4s of the way done.  I had no idea how to make these little squares so I slowly taught myself and completed the job.  It piqued my interest though and so I just had to make one for myself.  What drew me to this type of quilt?  It is a one-of-a-kind type of quilt!  There is no batting, no backing – you just build as you go, adding squares until you get it the size you want.  I am also surmising that the women of history made these as another way to use up scraps as the “window” fabric is only 2 inches square.  This is a time-consuming, test of patience quilt to make, but the upside is that one can take it anywhere to work on!  Very transportable!  This quilt took me 400 hours of labor but it has been worth every minute.