If you watch Grey's Anatomy, you know what having a "person" means. It's that one friend in your life who is basically family and knows far more about you than anyone really should. Not only does that person know you better than anyone, they know the good AND the bad and they even accept the bad! You can tell them anything because they have either already done/thought it themselves or completely agree with your logic when you reveal whatever is on your mind. You may have known that person for your entire life or just met them in the past few years but it doesn't matter because that person is now your person forever.
For me, Amy is my person. We met over four years ago when we were both living in San Diego and she has been one of my greatest support systems ever since. After I was transferred from San Diego to Norfolk, VA she even picked up her belongings and moved across the country to live a few miles down the street from me. While I'd like think this move was solely for me ;) I know it was also because her then boyfriend, now fiance, was also transferring to Norfolk. Kevin was a classmate of mine from the Academy and an amazing friend/equally necessary support system to have at my first unit. So really, what could be better than having a best friend like Kevin and Amy-my-person move across the country with me?! The answer is not a whole lot!
As one of my bridesmaids, Amy was my sounding board for all of my good and bad ideas and stress outlet at our weekly date nights, almost always including wine. With only a few short months to go before my wedding, Kevin popped the question and Amy and I were quickly on the wedding planning journey together.
As Amy's wedding was drawing nearer, I struggled to come up with what I felt would be a gift that showed both Kevin and Amy just how much they mean to me. They are family to me and that shiny toaster oven on their registry just wasn't going to send that message. For some reason, this idea took way too long to come to me but with five months to go before their big day, it hit me that making a quilt was a unique and personal way for me to use my growing skills to show them how much I love them.
The making of this post has actually been in the works for months and posting it couldn't come any sooner. As I mentioned a few days ago, my husband has been reminding me that we are seeing a whole lot'a sweets on this thing and not too many seams. I swear it is not because I am only consumed with mounds of cake batter and icing and clutching onto my KitchenAid. Keeping this project a secret for months has actually been very difficult and I am so happy I decided to give it to them a few weeks early.
The first step to this project was picking out the right fabrics I felt matched their decorating style (more so Amy's style because without Amy, Kevin still wouldn't have it. Sorry Kevin). Picking out fabric is never a quick process for me. I walk into Joann's and spend an hour carrying as many rolls of fabric as my mind can creatively piece together. After an hour, this is what I ended up with...
I love the contrasting patterns but also the way the colors compliment each pattern so well and decided to use the same striped pattern as a blanket I have posted before. As always, my sewing machine, cutting mat, and fabric cutter are the go-to tools for any sewing project.
After assembling the strips and border, this is how the front of the quilt looked.
Once the front was assembled and I made sure the blanket's sides and ends matched each other in size, the next step was to cut out a piece for the backing, also purchased from Joann's. The nice thing about this fabric is that it already comes quilted; the downside is the price and the fact that it doesn't allow you to quilt your own design into it. There are companies you can send off the front of your quilt to and they will do the actual quilting for you. I will definitely be using them in the future but it meant a lot to me to complete this whole blanket myself.
After cutting the quilted backing down to the right size, I folded the edges over twice to create the seam and pinned it down. For this blanket, I took more time to measure the size of the seam as I was pinning it to keep it as straight and even as possible. While still not perfect, the seams turned out better than my first quilt and I was pleased enough to not scrap the whole thing and start over.
The other downside to using the quilted backing is that unless you sew more lines into the back (which may make the pattern look odd) the front fabric is not connected to the backing with the exception of the seams. So I needed to find a way to connect the two pieces in a cute manner. What was the solution?
Buttons! I sewed three buttons in the middle of each flower-patterned strip of fabric and loved the end result. It was a subtle addition but helped to pull the whole thing together for that last finishing touch.
Finally, after four months the blanket was finished. Mostly. The blanket would of course not be complete without a personal note, so I used my embossing gun and scrap-booking supplies to create a beautiful, color-coordinated tag. After neatly folding up the blanket, I "wrapped" it in a personalized L.L. Bean canvas tote (matching blue of course) and sent it off to their new home in Maine.
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