Sunday 16 March 2014

A Very Special Patchwork Quilt

You may remember this post from January when I mentioned a quilt I was making for a gift and I gave you a little glimpse......



Well....now all can be revealed.....the quilt was a gift for my dear Uncle Brian.

With Uncle Brian's birthday (a rather big birthday) in January, I'd asked him back in October what he would like as a gift.  He knows I make quilts so I was thrilled when he asked me to make him a quilt to keep him cosy in the evenings when he's watching the telly.

I decided I wanted to personalise Uncle Brian's quilt by making it from fabrics that represented his hobbies, pastimes and personality. So I made a list of things I would like to incorporate. My list went something like this:

Fishing
Bird watching
Pets
Cowboy films
Cooking
Tea made in a teapot and served properly in a china tea cup!
A glass of wine
Catching the bus

Then I hunted through my fabric stash to see what I could find. I found quite a few patterns to fit the bill but needed a few more so I searched the internet and bought a few more fat quarters.

As the main focus of the quilt was the fabrics, the quilt itself would be simple squares that would show off the fabrics.

I laid the squares out trying not to repeat the same fabrics too close together. This was quite a task as I would swap two squares and then find another two fabrics close together!


I chose this fabric with birds for the backing.....


So here is the completed quilt........


Here you can see some of the fabrics a bit closer.......bird watching, fishing....a cup of tea...


Horses, teapots and a drop of wine........


More tea, biscuits, recipes and a cowboy....


Cats, catching the bus, fresh vegetables for dinner....and of course, more tea!


Here's the back which I think is nice and bright and cheery....



I'd embroidered a label for the back of the quilt.....


It was cold when we took these photos. You can see the wood burner's churning out some smoke!


I loved choosing the fabrics and putting them all together to make this unique quilt for Uncle Brian.


When I gave the quilt to Uncle Brian, he was thrilled....here he is tucked up cosy and warm....ready for an episode of Poirot or maybe even a cowboy film!


Of course I had to try it out too!


And to finish off this post, here's Spencer looking very handsome!


Thanks for taking the time to pop by!

Maggie xx


19 comments:

  1. What a wonderful and thoughtful gift! I am surprised you found all the right fabrics, I wouldn't even know where to look. You look super cute. You always make me wish I was better with my sewing. :)
    Regards

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  2. Lovely quilt, Maggie!! Lovely fabrics too !!great job:)

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  3. Well done Maggie it's amazing, what a lovely thoughtful gift.:)

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  4. What a beautiful quilt! Lucky Uncle Brian!

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  5. What a great gift. I'm sure that it will get a lot of love and use. And each time he uses it, he'll think of you.

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  6. That's great Maggie, what a classic! Uncle Brian looks almost regal sitting there with his quilt on him! A very thoughtful gift from you. I like the embroidered label, that's a good idea. Heather x

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  7. Its fantastic Maggie and I bet he is thrilled with it. Its amazing what a variety of fabrics you managed to get to represent his interests.

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  8. visiting from sew many ways. Your uncle looks fantastic cuddled up in his quilt

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  9. Such a gorgeous and very personal quilt Maggie....Your uncle Brian must have been thrilled and I don't think it's easy to make a quilt for a man but you have rose to the challenge wonderfully well...I love the mix of fabrics...it looks fantastic!
    Happy Sunday!
    Susan x

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  10. Visiting from SewManyWays. It's always hard to make a quilt for a man, or at least I think it is, you did a wonderful job of it. The whole thing is bright and cheerful and just perfect.

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  11. Finding the right place for each square must indeed have taken some time with so many different panels. I find the result quite pleasing to the eyes. Many men would like to have such a quilt. Beautiful!

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  12. Great quilt, the cowboys/girls are such a fun addition!
    Of course the best pic is with Spencer...quits and dogs go so well together

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  13. What a wonderful present! It must have taken so much time and love... Have a sweet sunday ! Evelyne (France)

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  14. Love your backing. So springy looking. Of course, I love birds. Who is the maker of the backing fabric?

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    1. Thank you Jacqueline. The backing fabric is 'Berry Patch' Stripe by Jane Maday for Wilmington. I still have some for sale in my ebay and Etsy shops here:

      http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=231060341875

      https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/163510733/songbirds-cotton-fabric-berry-patch

      Maggie xx

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  15. Uncle Brian looks as pleased as Punch and so he should be. What a wonderful quilt.
    Love from Mum
    xx

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  16. Maggie, I just love how you put this together!! I chuckled when I read the part about a proper cup of tea! So cute! Great job and I know Uncle Brian will cherish it, made with such love and thoughtfulness :-)

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  17. What a thoughtful gift, you both look rightly thrilled with it! I love that all of the fabrics hold such meaning x

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  18. So lovely to see this Maggie - this is what quilts are for!

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