Sunday, February 3, 2013

Storm Clouds Rumbling Through

 Thunder bolts and lightning, too!

 
At long last, my Storm Clouds (boy's) quilt 
for Project Linus is finished and will gladly be 
delivered to our local drop off site this week.

All through the process I've imagined a boy 
wearing the warm layers of 
color and movement like a hug. 

Now that the quilt is finished, in retrospect 
I can say my wish is for both of us to take comfort in 
the collective power of love, hope and giving. 
 If you follow my blog you'll know I didn't use a pattern.
 As a planner, I like to know where I'm going, 
so working intuitively (a.k.a. making it up as I go)
 was way out of my comfort zone.

The process of making this quilt changed all of that. 

Right from the start I knew I was making a boy’s quilt, 
but still many other choices needed to be made. 
I began by choosing half square triangle blocks. 
Next, I decided on the colors red and blue, 
and allowed black, white and gray. 
Stop. No pattern, no more direction. 
Well there I was working along doing what I could - 
preparing as many blocks as I had scraps for
and randomly arranging them on the design wall, 
when just at that time, a volatile storm rolled through our valley. 
I couldn’t help but notice my "random" arrangements 
 looking a lot like the rumbling, tumultuous skies overhead.
 Storm Clouds!  

Light broke through the clouds, 
figuratively and literally as represented in the borders. 
Starting with only one block and limiting myself to scraps, 
I found my way to a quilt that tells a story. 
One that will soon be passed along to a special audience of one.


I'm deeply grateful for Project Linus. They take it from here, 
doing all of the work involved with getting each quilt 
into the hands of a child in need here in the US.
If you're interested in donating hand made blankets and quilts, 
their website offers free patterns from many talented  
and generous quilters, knitters and crocheters, 
as well as other useful information. 
Have a look around and be inspired!
For anyone interested in a different approach to
designing your next scrap quilt, a free "Recipe" 
will soon be available here. It promises to be an adventure!

Have you made up your own quilts as you went along?
Have you given or received a quilt that really meant a lot to you? 
I'd love to read all about them in Comments.  



4 comments:

  1. The quilt is beautiful Tierney, and I know will bring a smile to the face of some little boy. I have a quilt that my aunt made for me many years ago. It is one of my most cherished possessions.

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  2. Thanks for sharing Tracy - I'll bet your Aunt sewed a lot of love into that quilt. ;)

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  3. Wow! You continue to amaze me! The quilt is stunning. Perfect colors and wonderful pattern placement.

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  4. Thanks Lara! Now that it's done, that only means one thing: time to start the next one!

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