Wedding Rose
My plan for today’s post was to share with you a couple new fabric lines that caught my eye at my local quilt shop recently. Instead, I feel inspired to write a bit about weddings; specifically, wedding quilts.
Believe it or not, both my daughters celebrated birthdays this past month and BOTH of them received engagement rings! Oh my, it all feels a bit overwhelming at the moment and I am so very excited!
I’m remembering back 30 years ago while working at Empty Spools Quilt Shop, a shop co-owned by my creative partner Diana McClun. I was recently engaged at the time and was asked by a fellow employee to help select fabric for a kit that was to be sold at the shop (or so I was told!). Of course, I selected all of my favorites knowing they would be the perfect choices for the pattern. Little did I know that, behind my back, the staff was furiously working to complete a wedding quilt to be presented to me at an upcoming bridal shower.
Laura’s wedding quilt. Made in 1983.
I love everything about this quilt. Every tiny hand stitch reminds me of the dear friends who gave of their time in making it for me. The beautiful traditional appliqué and trapunto patterns were designed by Adele Ingraham, a very talented quiltmaker. Trapunto is a method by which raised decoration can be added to any textile surface. Channels of parallel stitches or areas of patterned running stitches are filled to create a desired design. The hand quilting was done by Leona Hagen, an exceptional hand quilter. Both ladies were frequent visitors to the shop.
Detail of hand appliquéd swag border.
Detail of hand quilting and hand trapunto wreath design.
Of course, I want to make quilts for my girls, but my question is “what style?” It seems that the young women today favor a more modern and less traditional style than I associate with wedding quilts. Do I put hours and hours into designing and making quilts that they might not like or enjoy because they are known as traditional “wedding” patterns, or do I follow today’s trends, using simple lines and non-traditional colors and fabrics?
I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. I always enjoy hearing from you and since I am new to the wedding planning stage would appreciate some sage advice. In appreciation for your time in sharing I would like to send a gift bag of some of my favorite appliqué supplies to one of our loyal readers. This will be a quick turnaround so please post your comment by end of day Sept. 12th as I will announce the winner with my post on Friday Sept. 13th.
Until next time, enjoy your week everyone!
