Sunday, February 24, 2008

Quilt forest


Todd's grandma passed away a year and a half ago. She dearly loved all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and I really wanted Tsia to have something that her great-grandma made as a way to remember her. She was a quilter, and this tree was included in the box of her ornaments we received this Christmas. As soon as I saw it I knew it needed to hang in Tsia's room; it just fits with her doll quilts, somehow.


But I thought it needed a tree friend to make it seem less Christmas-y, so I made a little deciduous friend for it.


Yeah, I know; I can't seem to stop, can I? I whined the first time, turned aroudn and did it again, and here we are a third time. As it turns out, I really love the process of hand piecing and hand quilting, and this tree was stitched entirely by hand. There's something so relaxing about the process, isn't there?


I'm afraid my photos don't really do the pair justice--something about that unusual shade of yellow in the bedroom that doesn't photograph very well--but it's a pleasure to see Grandma Gabrielson's handiwork hanging in Tsia's room every day. I'm glad we'll all be able to look at it every day.

25 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:09 AM

    ok, now those rock.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous12:14 AM

    Wow! That is quite an amazing pair. Your tree might actually convince me to try hand sewing a quilt. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The are both pretty fab, your daughter is a lucky pixie!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my goodness I love that hex tree. So clever.

    ReplyDelete
  5. what a wonderful story! I am totally in love with them. Yours is especially beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is wonderful, Liesl.
    So nice seeing both trees together. A beautiful way to remember.
    And of course, I guess I know how you feel about the stitching, one can beautifully get lost in the calm rhythm of hand sewing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous8:59 AM

    A very sweet story and I LOVE your tree. And now I need to see the back of it. How did you finish it off? Always curious.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love heritage pieces. The tree you made it wonderful. It would be cool to make a tree like that using fabrics from the closet of a loved one. That hand sewing thing is looking better all the time to me.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous10:29 AM

    I love your addition. Such a cool idea.
    Anna

    ReplyDelete
  10. Okay, that tree is awesome! I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I LOVE them both, your tree is incredibly creative!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I ADORE the tree you made! I love the heirloom one too, but the one you made to go with it just blows me away. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow girl, that is such a beautiful thing! I'm trying to get started with quilting, and I think hand-quilting something small is going to be where I'll start. Now I wouldn't consider your beautiful tree to be a beginner's project, but maybe a coaster? :) Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  14. They're beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Any chance you're going to be seeling those hex trees on Etsy? I want one, but am not a sewer.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous4:07 PM

    Oh, I love this idea of tree quilts. My wall here needs a few desperately. Thanks for the inspiration. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Those are fabulous! Your hexagon tree is just the coolest thing.

    ReplyDelete
  18. That tree of yours is fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love your quilted trees! So beautiful and simple with all the neat little stitches.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love your hexagon pieced tree. It's gorgeous! Bookmarking for inspiration one day when I'm ready for hand piecing.

    ReplyDelete
  21. i love that tree! all of those shades of green and patterns look amazing together! you have a great eye! :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous7:54 AM

    Hi, I sent an email regarding the possibility of using this design, but I am not sure if I sent it to the right email address. Could you email me to confirm if you received it or not. Many thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I found your beautiful tree on a flickr gallery... and gasped when I saw it. Mad love for it! And all the more beautiful because it was from your grandmother and her loving hands.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Very beautiful - both of the trees, and they look quite happy together!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love this hexagon tree. What a great way to use the fabrics. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete