Happy Moment #30: Making a Quilt for a Client

I am not going to lie. When someone asks me to make something specifically for a person, my first reaction is to panic a little -- What if I mess the project up? What if the person doesn't like it? How much do I even charge? So far, in terms of quilts, I have made some T-Shirt Quilts for folks in exchange for money but that is about it (and I am pretty sure that I am probably undercharging for this as well but the more practice I get, the better, right?)

In April, a friend asked me if I would be willing to be commissioned to make a quilt for a dear friend of hers who was retiring and leaving the area. Not only was she the leader of a book club that had been an important part of the lives of this group of women, but she she was also retiring as a librarian. Just before this request, the fabric store where I work part-time got this new pattern from Crimson Tate into the store and the minute I saw it, I wanted to make it!

You can totally see why, right?! Books, people! A quilt all about books! So when my friend made this request, this pattern immediately came to mind. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to piece a quilt with lots of personalization -- the books the book club had read together, the names of the people in the group, fabrics that represented hobbies that the receiver enjoys, etc.

I didn't even panic when I found out that the quilt needed to be done faster than originally planned (I had a month total but I still had the rest of the semester to finish as well). As soon as I graded my last essay, though, I made a schedule of how to complete the 16 blocks, sashing, and quilting and I stuck to that schedule. I even finished a little early!

So in case you are wondering, here is the process of taking on a project like this. First, I had to piece together the 16 blocks that make up the entire bookshelf.

You can see each of the blocks have been placed on the floor and I played with the placement as each part was completed. One of the blocks included the embroidered sewing basket above since the receiver is a knitter. I was quite pleased with how that particular element turned out as there are basically no puckers (and it is a good 30,000 stitches!) and it looks amazing sitting on the "shelf."

Most of the parts -- once "pieced" -- went under my embroidery machine as I added personalization.

Once the blocks were done, I added the sashing which for this project meant the sides and the part of the bookshelf. I was supposed to -- as the pattern says -- add an additional sashing around the bookcase itself but I liked the look of the bookcase sashing better once I had done this first set of "bordering." I then decided to use the bookcase fabric to act as the binding. Of course, I discovered that the store had sold the last of the fabric I was using for the bookshelf fabric (of course!) but I was able to salvage enough from my scraps to make it work (with about 5 inches of fabric left by the end!).

I also have been wanting to try "Suzie's Magic Binding," a technique I see used a lot in our store displays but I hadn't yet tried it myself. This approach includes a faux flange and since it would be completely machine stitched, it would also save me the hours of hand stitching the back of the binding to the back of the quilt. I was nervous when I started but I am in love with the end result!

Here I am putting the binding on!

Another view!

I didn't get a great pic of the binding but you can see how awesome it looks on the left side of the above pic! I am proud of how well that whole process turned out!

The other creative moment was the quilt tag on the back. My friend Jane at the store gave me a fabulous idea and some tips on how to make this idea work! And viola! A library card pocket that holds a "sheet of paper" (but it is completely made up of fabric!) with the names of the folks who wanted this quilt made for the receiver! I am also happy that this idea worked in the end!

And the finished quilt from both the front and the back:

So my first experience with being commissioned to create a quilt for someone is done! I was even a little sad to see this go (although the quilt represents the receiver at this point and is all about her).

Even though there were a few cuss words said during the project (maybe more than a few!), I learned some new techniques (which makes me happy!) but I think I may have brought a little joy to someone's life and that really makes me happy. I don't think of myself as an artist but doing a project like this makes me almost feel like one and so I can imagine the delight that a maker feels when something you make creates joy and perhaps even connects someone to happy memories and good times!