May 21, 2010

706 West Bridge Street

I'm always the last to know stuff.  I opened Google Reader to visit my favorite blogs, and I saw oodles of these little buttons.  If you want to find out what this is all about, you'll have to go to Amy's blog.  And while you're there, you might as well play along. 


The quilt I'm sharing lives with my mother now.  My friend Karen and I went nuts when Moda announced its challenge in 2004.  (Remember the tin box full of the yummy neutral fabrics?)  We each made quilts to enter in separate categories.  Karen entered her quilt in the most creative category, and I went with the most Moda fabrics category.  I just knew there wasn't a person on the planet who owned more Moda fabric than me.  Turns out there are plenty!   

 

When I counted the fabrics I used in this quilt, there were 706.  The street number of my childhood home.  So I named it 706 West Bridge Street in honor of my mom who taught me to sew, and my dad who loved working in his garden. 


The half-square triangle units are two inches, and the squares in the checkerboard border are one inch.




I used freezer-paper applique' and stitched the motifs by hand.


This is the last quilt that I hand-quilted.


Hope you enjoyed your visit.  Now hurry on over to Amy's and tell us about one of your quilts!

Have a great weekend!
Kim

82 comments:

Sherri said...

LOve your quilt...and the story behind it too...and now I know I'm not the only one who counts fabrics in a quilt...or sometimes even pieces!

Mary said...

This is a beautiful quilt. Thank you for sharing.

Quilts on Bastings said...

Beautiful quilt - lovely applique and I am always impressed by hand quilting!

Carla said...

What a beautiful quilt. The hand quilting really gives the quilt a lot of movement when you look closer. I think we are all big Moda fabric lovers :o)

Sherrill said...

Soo pretty..and I LOVE the name of your quilt!

Apple Avenue Quilts said...

Just beautiful. Good work!

Barb said...

Is there a pattern? I just love it!!

STEPHANIE. said...

wow! I love this pattern!

Laura said...

Great quilt and I love how the name came about!

Sharon said...

Yes, I remember the Moda challenge, and the darling little tin box. I did not make anything to enter...sometimes the best intentions fall to the wayside! Your quilt is amazing! LOVE it! I think I need it in my house!

ladybugquilting said...

So Beautiful!

West Michigan Quilter said...

What a beautiful quilt! I love that pattern.

Jonathan said...

Wow, that is stunning!

Danielle said...

Beautiful quilt, and such a sweet story to go with it! That's what I enjoy most about quilts, there is always more than meets the eye.

Marika said...

Wonderful beautiful one worked artistic duvet.
I like it very much the motive!

Allie said...

Fabulous quilt! I love the story and the name.

quiltmom anna said...

What a great story about your wonderful quilt- I have done very little applique - I think I scared myself off of it,as I started out planning that I would make this grandiose hand appliqued bed sized quilt. It would have taken quite a long time to construct, even if I had known what I was doing- which I didn't LOL
I have made quite a number of pieced bed sized quilts ( at least 50) since 1996 but they don't have much applique.
I bought your Scrap basket Surprises book not long ago. It has many great patterns in it- more patterns for my someday list.VBG
Thanks for stopping by my blog.. Enjoy the festival.
Regards,
Anna

Karen said...

A wonderful quilt. Interesting how you came up with the name for the quilt. 706 different fabrics is a lot of variety but it all goes together so well.

Abby and Stephanie said...

Absolutely beautiful. Love how the quilt name has meaning from childhood. What a lovely treasure for your parents.

Mom said...

great applique!

margaret
www.quiltsoflove.blogspot.com

*karendianne. said...

Gosh. How fascinating. I love the variety of fabrics. How cool is that. Your workmanship is nothing short of lovely and you know my friend, I mostly admire the spirit you have within. This quilt expresses that. The person it took to create this quilt is a truly wonderful and, well, amazing woman. Thanks for the share!

Anonymous said...

This quilt is absolutely wonderful! What a treasure for your mom to own from your hands and heart! Loved the name as well...simply fantastic overall.

Tammy said...

Oh, Kim, this is absolutely beautiful! I LOVE the garden theme and the flowers and the colors and well, everything about it. *IF* you ever get tired of looking at it, feel free to email as I'd be happy to put it in my kitchen for awhile so I could look at it all day long! ;-)

Blessings,
Tammy ~@~
Garden Glimpses

Darlene said...

Oh Kim, it's beautiful. I do remember the tin with all the wonderful background fabrics - in fact - well you know! LOL Is there a pattern for this beauty?

Terriaw said...

Wow, this quilt is really amazing! I can't believe all the work (and fabrics) that went into this beauty. I can't stop looking at each and every little corner. I think I love the birdhouse the best, but really, this is just beautiful!

Sandie @ crazy'boutquilts said...

It is beautiful! Love the name!~ I never count fabrics in quilts, maybe I should~ I'm sure I'd be surprised. LOL Thanks for sharing your gorgeous work!

Kimberly said...

Lovely quilt! That is an amazing number of fabrics. I love the name of your quilt and the meaning behind it.
Thanks for stopping by earlier!

Vivian said...

I absolutely adore quilters who have a huge stash. Makes me feel like just one of the gals. Great story -- such a logical name for the quilt -- and the quilt is BEAUTIFUL!

Kim said...

Just love the story attached to this quilt. Absolutely delightful. :-D

Deborah said...

Gorgeous! What an amazing variety of fabric!

Rosalyn Manesse said...

I love it--you are really talented

Becky said...

Wow! This is one awesome quilt. Love it!!! Thanks for sharing it with us. Your Mom is lucky it gets to live with her.

Wendy said...

What a awesome quilt and a wonderful story to go with it. I love the whole thing, looking closely I can see some fabrics still currently in my stash.

canuckquilter said...

A great story for a beautiful quilt. Thanks for sharing.

Deanna said...

That is an amazing gift of love. While machine quilting is good for speed and special effects, nothing beats handquilting for beauty.

Loris said...

Beautiful quilt, wonderful quilting! What a treasure.

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

You have one of the best quilt stories in the festival Kim! Thank you for taking the time to tell the story and show your beautiful quilt.

Red Geranium Cottage said...

That is one beautiful quilt. I love the whole thing. And I love the way you named it because of your street number. Very sweet. Thanks for sharing.

Karen said...

Well, reading the post and then reading all the comments, I need a tissue!! This quilt is truly one of my most favorite memories. Remember how hard we worked to finish them for the deadline?? And we were sure we were going to win something!! You are amazing and this quilt is testimony to that.

Kim said...

Your quilt is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing your wonderful story.

QuiltSue said...

Great quilt, great story.

Anonymous said...

Your quilt is beautiful, and 706 fabrics - wow!

Sandra said...

What a beautiful garden quilt, your Mom is very lucky. I still have the tin and fabrics, maybe one day I'll make something using them. Scrappy quilts are the best, I've used more than 200 in a small wall quilt so I totally get you.
Sandra

Marit said...

I love both the quilt and the story of your quilt! The number of fabrics you used are quite amazing!

; )

Thank you for your nice visit!

Shawn said...

What an absolutely beautiful heirloom, and the number .... love your amazing quilt!

Angie said...

The story behind the title is great.

Quiltycat said...

Beautiful! I love the quilt and the story too!
nichi

Marie said...

Beautiful quilt thanks for sharing

Carol said...

Very pretty sampler quilt.

Quiltmoose - Dagmar said...

What a beautiful quilt!! Thanks for sharing pics of it and the story behind it :-)

Greetings from Germany,
Dagmar

Denise said...

Such a great quilt!

Lisa Klingbeil said...

Oooooh, eye candy, just gorgeous applique! Thanks for sharing.

AnnieO said...

I love Moda too! This is a beautiful quilt and represents oodles of hours of work, I couldn't begin to guess how many. I like the title of the quilt and the woman it honors. Very very special. Thank you for sharing your quilt's story :)

Anonymous said...

Your quilt us lovely! You can tell you put in loads and loads of work and love into it. Moda fabrics are delish!

Cynthia said...

Great quilt! I love the applique...and I am amazed that you used so many different fabrics!

Rose said...

Beautiful quilt and I love the story.

Pattilou said...

Such a beautiful quilt. I enjoyed reading about it. 706 fabrics--my ADD wouldn't let me keep track of so many I don't think. I so enjoy seeing applique in a quilt and yours is just--well for lack of a better word incredible! Love it!

Mary-Kay said...

Wow! That's a lot of fabric. And all those little triangles and squares. And all that applique. Beautiful!

Dolly said...

That's an impressive quilt.........706 fabrics? Great job, so beautifully done, and I love the tribute to your mom and dad with the name of the quilt.

Susan said...

I love it and the name sent chills. Now it makes me want to deisgn up something from my childhood.

hetty said...

What a beauty! I love it!

The Cozy Quilter said...

This quilt is lovely--I love all of the fabrics and the applique is whimsical--just beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

SueR said...

A lovely memory of your parents, and a beautifully made quilt.

a good yarn said...

706! I can't believe you counted them but I love how they inspired the name for your quilt. It's fabulous! Ann :-)

Janet said...

Love your quilt and love the reason for the name!

Lis Harwood said...

Wow, what a delicious quilt and I love the way it got its name and the significance of it, great story.

georgie said...

what a truly beautiful quilt and I just love the story behind it.
Happy quilting.
Georgie x

Candace said...

A wonderful quilt and story, Kim! Such a treasure for your mom!
Cheers!

Army Wife Quilter said...

Wow I love the basket flower combination. the colors are awesome. great job

Lynn Koeppen said...

I LOVE this quilt (and Moda).

Anonymous said...

Thank you for visiting my blog! Your quilt is lovely with a great name and story.

myBearpaw said...

This is such a beautiful quilt, well done!
Thanks so much for sharing it and it's story

Browndirtcottage said...

....OOOUUUU....AAAHHHHHH......I.LIKE.

Oddbjørg said...

I love your quilt! Thanks for sharing it - and it's story.

shauna said...

I love this quilt!! I hope it will show up in a book or pattern soon! Please!!

Heather said...

It's beautiful! So did you win?? :D

Eileen said...

a marvelous quilt!! wow--706 different fabrics--hard for me to fathom. you have done a beautiful, beautiful job. thanks so much for sharing

Donna said...

Wow! It's beautiful! I would love to have a pattern if one is available.

Karen said...

Such a beautiful quilt!!!! Love the Moda too.

Carrie P. said...

Wow, that sure is a lot of fabric in one quilt. It turned out so great. Thanks for sharing it.

em's scrapbag said...

Love this beautiful scrappy quilt. Thanks for sharing.

Millie said...

Beautiful quilt and lovely memories of your parents. The quilt turned out so beautiful.