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Thursday, October 29, 2015

Bloggers' Quilt Festival - "Love from Above for Emma" (Desire to Inspire pieces 1 & 2)


"Love from Above for Emma" 
designed and made by Lynette Caulkins
36 x 43 inches
cotton fabrics, Hobbs poly batting
free-motion quilted on a domestic Husqvarna Sapphire 875Q


Blogger's Quilt Festival - Fall 2015


Greetings! Those who have followed me for a while know that I have been finishing several projects over the years that my cousin had been working on when she died. Her physical heart gave out way too young, and she never saw the grandkids that she would have doted on shamelessly. My favorite photo of her is from way back in 1989, on my wedding day.

Well, I've also taken on the goal to make a quilt for each of her grandkids for her.

When her first granddaughter was born, I used a guild challenge to make a little quilt for Jaycee in Kelly’s memory. 


As you can see, "Hugs and Kisses from Above" had charm blocks along the bottom with appliqued XO’s tumbling down in front of some vertical mint waves. It connoted the idea of our loved ones continuing to be with us after passing over to the next existence.

I’ve felt bad the past year or so, because I never made a baby quilt for her sister, who is now two years old. So when the Henry Glass company sent me a bundle of “Miss Kitty’s Colors” by Marie Cole to use for my turn in their “Desire to Inspire” program, I opened that package and immediately knew the first item would be a quilt for Emma.

I wanted this to be similar in design, but with its own overall look. The super-cute block-based feature fabric in the collection was perfect for cutting steps out along the bottom, and being a collection of kitty-oriented prints with florals and stripes included, I had the idea to put a fun black cat romping after a ball of yarn. 


Shopping my stash for a good background had yielded a long-ago purchase of softly speckled light blue that played nice with the collection, so that was an extra addition. (Amusingly, that fabric just happened to be a Henry Glass fabric as well.) 

Kids love having their name on things, I’ve found, so I appliqued "Emma" at the top, giving it some strong blanket stitching like Kelly was fond of using. 



I used the quilting to include the idea of the wavy mint streamers and the XO’s that had been appliqued on her sister's quilt. I was really happy at how it tied the two different designs together in the concept of Kelly's love for them raining down from Heaven.


I paired the top with some pink Kona solid I had on hand and some Hobbs poly batting. 




And one of the paw-print selections from "Miss Kitty's Colors" made a perfect binding. Isn't that cute?




Since you just can’t send a gift out of the blue to one young child and not send something for a sibling, the second item I made from the collection was a cute child’s messenger tote for her sister, complete with her name appliqued, as well. I used this tutorial at the blog "Zaaberry": Kid's Messenger Bag Tutorial. Every fabric here comes from the collection.




I did choose to place her name inside the flap for child safety reasons. That also left the front flap free for the great feature fabric. I can picture Jaycee happily using this when they go to the library, or toting valuables around the house. 

Can't wait to put these in the mail this week!


And my real-live black cat, Navarre - ?  He approves.  :)


13 comments:

  1. Diese Decke ist wunderschön!!! Sie ist bestimmt ein absolutes Lieblingsstück.
    Auch die Tasche ist eine schöne Arbeit!
    Liebe Grüße lykka

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  2. Hi Lynette! This is beautiful quilt and I love that it's fun too! x Teje

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  3. Absolutely stunning projects. I can't decide which one I love the most. You are such a wonderful person to do this for your cousin's family xxx

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  4. What a wonderful tribute to your cousin, not only finishing her projects, but making new projects that combine your hearts. Bet Jaycee and Emma love their new gifts and will give you plenty of XO's in appreciation.

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  5. Maravillosa tu creatividad. Me gustó.
    Saludos,
    Yasmin

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  6. Such beautiful projects to honor your cousin and pass her love on to her grandchildren. I really like how the X's and O's tie them together.

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  7. Well, I had to check out your other posts in this project and am I glad I did. First of all apologies to Isabeau for calling her Navarre in my previous comment. These are two projects that tug at my heart when I read the background to them. You've done a terrific job; I love the appliquéd names. Treasures for these little ones.

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  8. How cute and fun! That's perfect for a 2 year old. I'm sure it will go every where with her.

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  9. This is such a cool quilt! I love the design concept. That applique cat is just too cute! Bless you for looking after your cousin's grandchildren!

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  10. Hello Lynette,

    The quilt for Emma is beautiful, and a really touching gift for the whole family with the memories of Kelly.

    Thank you for linking up with Free Motion Mavericks.

    Love, Muv

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  11. You are so talented! As a beginner these quilts encourage and amaze. I'm just starting some quilting projects and have really enjoyed resting and reading as I go along. Thank you, Dana McGunigale

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