bonadoochi

I am extremely fortunate that I have some amazing friends, many of whom I don't get to see very often but when we do get together, we just pick up where we left off.  As is the way of things, some of them have had to endure some real hardship over the past couple of years and it is always difficult when you feel that you can't be there as much as you would like to help and support them.   The recipients of the first quilt I have finished this year are a perfect case in point.  I have been friends with D for many years; indeed, he was the originator of my kettleboiler moniker.  In my mid 20s, many a Friday night was spent in the Black Bull pub in Edinburgh with him and others, hogging the juke box and laughing to some truly terrible but always hilarious jokes.  When we all started to gradually move away, D was the constant there.

He was friends with S for years and when they reconnected, they did so through letters.  This resonated with me as my mum and dad met when they became penpals and much of their early courting was through letters.   10 years ago, D and S got married and we were fortunate enough to be in attendance.  D made THE best speech I have ever witnessed, and left most women in tears and most men cursing him for the grief they would be getting later on!  They became a beautiful blended family, joined by their own little J, with the usual ups and downs that life throws up.  A couple of years ago, S's sister passed away unexpectedly on the same day as my mum did.  Almost exactly a year later, S lost her mum too. So this year, they decided to reclaim the summer and, as it was their 10th wedding anniversary year, they chose to renew their wedding vows and show the kids that good things happen too.

I decided to make them a quilt to help them celebrate. I asked D if they had a favourite song and he mentioned "Everyone's Gotta Learn Sometimes" by the Korgis as one of them so I thought I could include some of the lyrics in their quilt.  The initial idea was to have the whole chorus but realising that this would mean the quilt would take until their 20th anniversary to finish, I reigned in the ambition.  Also, I got my quilt maths wrong so it would have meant an superkingsizer.  

Although it has taken me a little longer than I hoped to get it done, the Bonadoochi quilt is finished and ready to be delivered in person next weekend...

the not quite finished quilt top

a little trudification happened

..with some personalisation too.

backed with Tula Pink's Bird and Bees - can you see the join?

thanks to my quilt hangers!

It's mahoosive at around 80" x 90".  There was no way I could quilt this beast myself so it was given some beautiful Trudification by Trudi.  You can see that she quilted "S and D" in the central heart for me.  It's backed with some Tula Pink's Birds and Bees and bound with a couple of Denyse Schmidt Chicopee prints and a AMH Innocent crush one.

I love this quilt. The paper pieced letters were a b*gger at times but worth it (just my type by Kristy at Quiet Play). It's my own design.  I used thangles for the HSTs that made up the heart and they rock!  It's not perfect but I'm (almost) cool with that.  I am looking forward to seeing my friends again soon and handing it over.  This is the reason I love sewing and quilting.  Of course, it's all about me!