migrations

Some months ago my enthusiastic daughter-in-law suggested that several family members join together in a round robin quilt project much like this one way back in 2016... This time there were 6 quilters included and though everyone is related to someone else in the group, we aren't all related to each other. Quilting experience ranged from darn near expert levels to complete newbies and personal tastes and preferences ranged just as broadly! Even more challenging though was the fact that each quilt traveled -- back and forth between Ontario and BC (twice!) and as well as across the province (like migrating geese?). Although each quilter didn't see her own quilt in progress once she sent it off after the first round, there was a fair bit of sharing and advice giving behind the scenes. It is stressful to work on someone else's project under any circumstance, but when it's the project of someone you genuinely love, it's doubly important to get it right!

The finished quilt tops were all phenomenal -- check out this instagram feed to see them all !

Here's the story of mine, starting with the finished top:

Amazing, eh? It began with my square, which is from a Cherri House design called "City Aviations", inspired by Canada geese migrating over her Texas home.

Each quilter then added a border (or two), using fabrics from her own stash as well as incorporating some of mine. Looking at the quilt top I am amazed at how cohesive it all is, while at the same time I can see each quilter's unique style in her addition. It went from me, to my sister, to my daughter-in-law's mother, to my daughter-in-law, to my sister-in-law, to my other sister....

There are many things in this quilt that remind me of our cabin -- from the pinwheel at the centre (reminiscent of our wind turbine) to the wild flying geese pattern to the many shades of green and the leafy fabrics. I'm thinking of incorporating some embroidery on the top, as a nod to my late mother-in-law who embroidered beautifully on some of her own amazing quilt creations. She would have loved to have been a part of this project.

For the backing I've chosen this Kaffe Fasset print because it breaks free playfully from the green and cream colour scheme and because it reminds me of the scummy (sometimes toxic) algae that floats on our otherwise lovely lake every summer. Like a quilt, all the parts (scummy lake and all) make up the whole package -- I wouldn't want the cabin any other way so why not celebrate that in this quilt too!

Thank you "quilting sisters"! Till the next one...