Wednesday, January 19, 2011

More WIPs than you can Shake a Stick at

You know what I love about working on commissioned projects, other than the getting paid to sew part? I love that the folks who ask me to make them a quilt don't care whether I talk about it or show off bits of it before their big reveal. There's none of this keeping a lid on things until I'm given the green light to show it off here. The green light is always on. That's the case with the work in progress I posted on Monday and that's the case today as well.
This soon-to-be twin sized quilt doesn't feature a new design, but it does have a new-to-me element. The customer that commissioned this quilt for her teenage boy came armed with 24 photos that she had transferred on to fabric. She wanted the improvisational squares design and asked that the photos be incorporated into the quilt.
 I have had so many "awww" moments looking through these photos. They span the boy's life from infancy to age 10 or so and include pictures of him and his folks, his pets and several adorable portraits like this one.
When I was first asked to make this quilt I didn't think it was exactly my style and I guess I'm still not completely convinced, but when I think about this quilt finished and laying on this boy's bed, I'm a bit swept away by how special it will be.
Another thing I've discovered in making this quilt is that its future specialness adds to my enjoyment in making it.  I always like the process of creating and oftentimes I create with an end recipient in mind, but these photos provide a more concrete sense of the end recipient and make the specialness of this quilt more tangible. It just goes to show you that sometimes when you take on a project that's not exactly your "thing", you just might find something new and wonderful.

8 comments:

MarveLes Art Studios said...

Love the quilt, and particularly your comments, specially about taking on something that might not be your typical "thing"... and I agree... you find unexpected joy!

Judi said...

Your outside the box is great!

Poppyprint said...

That is really lovely sentiment and I'm sure the family will cherish this great quilt! You can bet it will be going off to college with that young man.

I feel the same way about taking quilting workshops. Sometimes I have doubts that I'll enjoy the project, or learn anything new, but every single time I come away with knowledge I didn't have before.

Rocio said...

For sure this will be a very special quilt for the receiver. It is like putting a photo album on your bed. Very original! Maybe I wouldn't do it for myself but I admit it has that personal touch, which is difficult to see in some other quilts. Looking forward to see the final result!

folksmith said...

I don't really like the idea of photos in quilts, however, after seeing your creation i am thrilled. it really looks like a wonderful quilt to have. it would make a great art piece on hanging on the wall. Love it!

Erin said...

Love it!! I love to make things with pictures on them, it makes them so unique and special. For the last few years I've been making pillow covers for my daughter's preschool with the pictures of each child from each class on them. They are a huge success!

Angela said...

I love this idea. What a special keepsake. Add one more project to my list of want to's.

Traci said...

You handled using the pictures so so well. I am always tempted to do a photo quilt for my kids but then think "nah--I can't make it look modern"--but you really did. It looks fantastic and still has that special pop while tucking away all the photos!