Commisioned Quilts

Just so everyone knows, you can commission me to make you a quilt! I've had a few people pay me to make specific quilts for them and I'm actually working on one now. It is a Minecraft quilt for a 10 year old boy who really likes that computer game.  These kinds are fun because they give me the opportunity to make things I wouldn't have made otherwise, and to buy and use fabrics that I wouldn't have! Sometimes, I've even had people go buy their own fabric, so it is just what they want, or pick their own pattern. One such quilt was Brylon's quilt. Brylon and I went to school together from kindergarten till graduation! He recently joined the Marines, and while he was waiting to get in, he decided that he wanted a change of decor in his room. He knew I did quilts and asked for a queen-sized patriotic quilt. I knew the pattern that I would use immediately! What better than a star pattern?! I used patriotic fabrics that are more common around the 4th of July, and got to work. I love this pattern so much, it is called No Diamonds in the Sky from Calico Carriage Quilt Designs. This pattern didn't strike me as gorgeous until I saw it done in a different fabric. One of my local quilt shops had done this quilt in yellow and blues and it was GORGEOUS! Just thinking about it makes me want to make another one for myself! Anyway, I'd used the pattern to make a wedding quilt for my brother and his wife. They had chose white, black and gray to match their room, and it was fun to remake the quilt with red, white and blue! I love those colors together, makes me feel all patriotic and stuff. So I took pictures of fabrics and sent them to Brylon (we live 2000 miles apart, so we couldn't just meet at the store or anything), and he chose which he liked best. Then I got to work washing, drying, ironing, folding, cutting, and sewing! It took a lot of work, but when I was finished with that quilt, I can tell you I was pretty proud of how it came out. I had my lady quilt it with navy thread and a star pattern, as shown below. She did a great job! I felt like it was a quilt worthy of a Marine :) So, I took it to the post office and shipped it off. Then, when I thought all was over, Brylon liked the quilt so much that he said he needed some matching pillow shams! I had never made any before, and really didn't know what I was doing, so I read a few tutorials, found a block I liked, and made them. It took a LONG time because I kept putting it off. Sorry Brylon! The block I chose was paper pieced and given as a tutorial by Faith at Fresh Lemons Quilts. It is a block from the gorgeous Summer Sampler Series called simply, the Star Block Tutorial. I had used that block before when I made Haley's daughter, Scarlett a quilt. Maybe I'll post that one later! Well, now you know the story, do you want to see some pictures?!

-Rachel

 

 

 

He sent me a picture when it arrived!

 

Trying to figure out how to make a pillow sham...

 

The end result of the pillow sham fiasco!