December was a little…non-existent…here in bloggity blog land. One could say I was busy and out of town and sick and okay there is no really awesome excuse but I have some super secret quilty stuff that I’ve been keeping under my hat until after the holidays. Like this:
The face everyone wants to see by the recipient of their hand made quilt. That would be my sister. I was ready with the camera for the moment she realized what was in her hands.
No fooling, she did wait 23 years for this quilt and had absolutely no idea it was finished. Everyone even kept this blog a secret from her so she couldn’t see its progress.
She’s been wrapped up in it ever since
At first she had no idea it was coming
and I hid it in a duffle bag I made for her
Apollo was, of course, happy to see the quilt again
Here is what it finally looked like when all was said and done. Ahhh the 1990’s colorway. FYI, all hearts are hand appliqued and that center star, also on two corners, was hand drafted by yours truly, it was a y-seam o-rama I clearly had no idea what I was getting myself into.
and this is the back…pre-label.
The quilt itself was pieced mainly with hand drawn templates on subscription cards (because I guess I was too poor in college to buy card stock and no one made template plastic back in those days anyway). No rotary cutting until I pieced the back because back in the day no one used rotary cutters…needless to say the back took me one day to piece. The adventures of this quilts’ making are tagged in the work-in-progress section.
The duffle bag is quite large
it could fit several quilts but my sister is a sky diver and a singer and voice over person so she does quite a bit of scooting around (in Germany, where she lives). The bag pattern is from Craftsy, it’s called the Travel Duffle Pattern by Studio Cherie. Here are some details:
Top zip with tabs…note my variegated thread, I was rather proud of that…the tabs were a bit of a bear due to the size of the zipper
Side zip pocket with pleats (there is also a slip pocket on one side). In the future I would add pockets to all sides, one can never have enough of those.
lined with lions
Actually the whole freaking thing was lined with lions. My sister is a Leo and has always had a thing for lions…and they were cute so I had to buy the fabric!
All in all she was a very happy girl. Yeahh me!
More projects I have been keeping from you to come…soon…really soon.
The Animated Librarian Quilts 
Yay you is right!! This is the post I’ve been waiting to read. Yep, I’ve been stalking your blog since Rebecca departed Oregon, wanting to read the story. You even captured her expression of absolute delight. Handcrafted quilt, homemade duffle bag, lion fabric, musical notes, perfect quilt label: it all adds up to an absolutely memorable Christmas gift. I think you’re set for the next quarter century. xxx Beanie
Thanks Beanie. It was a great night. With any luck she won’t have to wait as long for the next one however there are a “few” in the making before I go there 🙂
Congrats on your 23 year finished quilt. You got me beat by a few years, my oldest UFO is only 21, and the one I am finishing this week is 19. ~ fellow librarian 🙂
I actually have a 21 year-ish old quilt waiting in the wings as well! It’s an apple core quilt that’s about 3/4 of the way done. I am hoping to get a design wall up so I can finish it with more ease…eventually. I have a few projects ahead of it at this point. My bug jar quilt was started in…2001 I think so the apple core will be my 3rd in the new vintage quilt collection 🙂 Yeah librarians! I am also faculty at my college so I just finished my first sabbatical. Many naps were taken…a peek into retirement and lo it was good.
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OMG what a present, it brings tears to my eyes just to imagine! The bag itself is a big deal already, and that hidden quilt inside… lucky sister! Her patience paid off big time! And it’s such a nice detail to line the bag with that supercute lion fabric! I found you through Pam’s link!
Thank you so much for the comment Kati. It’s funny you notice the lion fabric, I think that was her favorite fabric of all 🙂 She actually thought the quilt would never get made because she saw me working on other quilts during her visit, not knowing hers was finished. She told me she was a little depressed about it until the reveal. I go to Europe next week to visit her…and the quilt.
Great quilt and bag and an awesome story to go with both. Thanks for the bag pattern reference, I have my eye out for a good duffle bag pattern. Visiting from Hip To Be A Square (: