Friday, October 29, 2010

Blogger's Quilt Festival, Fall 2010: Angie's Garden

(Angie's Garden)

This is one of my favorite quilts.  Why?  Because it was the result of a round robin conducted through the Internet back when so many of us were new to it in the mid-90's, and the Internet still seemed like a little bit of magic.  I'd become involved in a block exchange through the World Wide Quilting Page.  The page is defunct now, but then it was a good way to meet quilters.

After the block exchange was done a few of us decided to do a round robin.  We each made our own medallions.  I'd always loved the Dresden Plate pattern and was excited to try it as a medallion.  Then we put our medallions in the mail to the next person on the list.  The quilter added one border and shipped the top on to the next quilter.  In this way the borders were added.  We kept to a schedule, insuring that everyone was forwarding the projects to the next person close to the same time.  It was such a blast, because we had no idea what the top was going to look like when it came back to us.

I couldn't believe the beauty I unwrapped when the top finally came home.

Originally, there was another border on the outside of the top.  It was as lovely as the others.  You can imagine how sick I felt when I discovered the quilter had inadvertently snipped a block. Unfortunately, by the time I discovered the cut, the quilter had moved and we'd lost contact, so I couldn't ask her for replacement fabric.  I had no fabric like she'd used, and at that time I wasn't aware of quilters giving a shout out to other quilters in search of fabric. I had no idea how to fix it.

Ultimately, I decided to remove the last border.  I donated the blocks to an organization who made quilts for battered women.

The quilt is mostly hand-quilted.  By the time I got to the last border, I simply wanted it done, so I machine quilted it.  I've discovered that I get a sense of satisfaction quilting blocks that are all the same size.  You get one done, and move on.  However, on a quilt with increasingly large borders, I found it frustrating.  I won't hand-quilt a medallion quilt again for this reason.

I named the quilt Angie's Garden after my friend Angie.  Angie did the applique on the quilt.  She was one of my first Internet friends.  She lived in Oakland, California and I lived in Independence, Kansas.  She was an older lady, and I was in my early 30's.  However, our love of quilting and the Internet made us fast friends.  We never met in person.  About five years after we got acquainted, Angie passed away.  I was still working on the quilt then, but I knew what I would name it when it was finished.

I almost didn't enter the Blogger's Quilter Festival this fall.  Tomorrow, I will be packing up my computer in preparation for making a 1200 mile move on Monday.  I'll have to delay looking at everybody's wonderful quilts, and I won't be able to respond to comments for a week.  However, Sarah at Confessions of Fabric Addict convinced me to enter anyway.  After careful consideration, I realized she was right.  The Blogger's Quilt Festival will give me something to look forward to when I arrive and again have Internet service.

So if I can manage this entry under these circumstances, you can certainly manage to enter something too.  The Blogger's Quilt Festival is open to entry for a week.  Click on the link below and show off your some of your quilty loveliness.  :-)


Amy's Creative Side - Blogger's Quilt Festival

25 comments:

  1. It must have been really strange not knowing what you quilt was going to look like. Its a real shame about that border but you still have so many great memories with the quilt.

    Good luck with the move, hope the house is great.

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  2. What a wonderful story--all those memories to look back on every time you look at your lovely quilt! I hope everything goes (went?) like clockwork for your move.

    Hazle

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  3. What a pretty quilt, and a good story to go with it. Sorry that Angie passed away before seeing the finished quilt.

    I didn't think I had anything for the quilt festival, but now that you've prodded me, I think I might. It may take a day or two to get it together, but I should be able to enter before the deadline.

    Have a safe trip to your new home!

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  4. Beautiful quilt! Quilts always have such strong memories in them.

    Good luck on your trip tomorrow!

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  5. Do we have your new mailing address? I will "print" my blog entries (on like, "paper") and snail-mail them to you via the USPS :D

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  6. Such a lovely story. It helps your beautiful quilt have more meaning . . .

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  7. What a great story Michelle. I'm so glad you named your quilt the way you did. It's perfect.

    The collective work that went into this quilt is amazing and it's truly stunning.

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  8. It's a beautiful quilt and a great story. Isn't it funny how sometimes the quilt name starts running around in your head before you finish it? I love the name of this one and your memories only make it more special!

    I'm so glad you decided to join in! Good luck on the move!!

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  9. Multiple borders are a pain to quilt, they seem to get ripply! Spray starch is a miracle though at least for machine quilting!

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  10. What a great quilt and a great story! Angie would be proud!

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  11. That quilt is really gorgeous and the story behind it is even more amazing. Thanks so much for sharing. I really enjoyed reading about your quilt!

    xo -El

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  12. Lovely quilt and a great story...perfect for an internet quilt show!

    Hope you have an easy move!

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  13. Michelle it's just beautiful! And what a great story to go with it. I remember the World Wide Quilting Page!!

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  14. What a sweet tribute to your friend. I love medallion quilts. Aren't round robins fun!

    THanks for sharing,
    Angie Nudge

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  15. The World Wide Quilting page was one of the first international quilting resources I found when I got online in th 90ies, - it seemed like it was THE place for quilters back then :-)
    Round Robins sounds like fun quilting experiences. The best things about the internet are the friends you get :-)

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  16. Good luck with your move. That is a lovely quilt, I remember that round robin time well. My own is waiting for me to add another border or 3, 4 - It isn't big enough for me....

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  17. Enjoyed reading about your quilts. Pretty quilt and wonderful story.

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  18. Great RR quilt and lovely story.
    Good luck with the move hope your new place is good for you.

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  19. Lovely quilt! Your quilts are always so interesting and unique!

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  20. What a cool quilt- love the medallion set. It is very charming. Thanks for visiting my b/w& pink mini. Good luck on the move

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  21. What a lovely quilt with such a great story. Lots of memories, a quilt to be treasured.

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  22. One thing I noticed about your work is that you never just do an easy quilt... :) Your quilts are always difficult and very interesting.

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  23. Hello! What a wonderfull quilt with special story!
    Thank you for your visit and lovely comment in my blog!
    Sunny wishes! Teje

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  24. love your beautiful quilt. such a nice layout and the colors/fabrics are great. sweet story and love the name. thanks for sharing and have a great day

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Your comments brighten my day. :-)