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Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Quiltmaker's Gift


When I quilt or create, I pull inspiration from all sorts of places.  The Quiltmaker's Gift, by Jeff Brumbeau and Gail de Marcken, has inspired me again and again.  I am fortunate enough to get to share a love of quilting with my mom and one of my aunts.  A few years ago, while my mom was visiting her, my aunt showed her this quilting book and immediately my mom knew I'd love it.  As soon as she got back from her trip she ordered The Quiltmaker's Gift and a couple companion books for me and I have been inspired by them ever since.

The Quiltmaker's Gift isn't a quilting book in the usual sense - it's a fairy tale written for children.  It is a beautifully illustrated story about a quilter who teaches a greedy king the joy of giving.  As the story unfolds, each page high-lights a different quilt block.  I have to admit, even though this is a book my son loves to have me read to him, I keep this one in my craft room.  Too many times I found myself trying to sneak back into his room to get it while he was napping.

My mom also gave me The Quiltmaker's Journey, which stars the same quiltmaker, but in a different fairy tale, and one of the two quilting books that were based off of each of these.  The first is called Quilts From the Quiltmaker's Gift and the second is called More Quilts From the Quiltmaker's Gift.  The quilting books give patterns for many of the blocks found throughout the fairy tales and also has beautiful quilts that people have made after being inspired by the books.

Together, The Quiltmaker's Gift and The Quiltmaker's Journey have inspired two quilts that I have made.  The first one I made for my sister's new baby earlier this year...



Please excuse my baby and the cat butt in the photo.  I made this quilt before I started blogging and had literally JUST finished the label and snapped these pics before running to catch a flight out to meet my new niece.


This was one of my first real attempts at both hand applique and meandering quilting.  I named the quilt "Peachy Tea" because all of the fabrics were in peach tones and the pattern it was based off of is called "Tea Leaf" in More Quilts From the Quiltmaker's Gift.  Note: this quilt was based off of the Tea Leaf pattern, there is not actually a pattern for this exact quilt in the book - I made it up (particularly the border).


Not the best pic, but this is what it looks like hanging above my nieces crib.

The second quilt is still a work in progress, but I designed it using two different blocks that are high-lighted in the books.

This block is called Pussy in the Corner...


And this one is called Friendship Star...


Here are a few pics of how it will look once it is all sewn up...






The Quiltmaker's Gift also inspired me to not only want to give that quilt away on this blog, but it has also helped me to realize how much joy I get from making something with my own two hands for someone else as a gift.  At some point in my crafting I realized that the pleasure that I received from purely giving something to someone, without putting a price tag on it, added way more joy to my life than if I were to try and sell my things.  Now don't get me wrong, I'll sell some of my art and jewelry from time to time, but for me it has generally proved more trouble than it was really worth and had a tendency to make my crafting feel more like a job.  I think that is sort of why I've been dragging my feet on starting my own Etsy shop.  One day, maybe, but not just yet.

You can find out more about all four of the books here and also can find them on Amazon here.  And just so you know, I was just looking to share some inspiration - I am not in any way affiliated with or trying to make sales for these sites.  :)

15 comments:

  1. You are SO talented! I swear! SHEEESH!

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  2. Awesome. I think I may need to get this book for my sons. Even at the early age of 4, my oldest knows the importance of quilting in my life.

    He often bargains for a trip to the toy store with "After that Mom, we can go to a Quilt Shop..."

    Isn't the giving why we all do it anyway? Sometimes we just need reminded.

    AnneMarie @ Gen X Quilters

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  3. Hmmmm, the children's books, and little Edward the Elephant, all hidden in your craft room... am I going to have to start worrying about you now?? Seriously, your quilts are beautiful and your little boy looks so cute on that quilt, with his little hand on his little leg! Adorable! And yeah, don't open your Etsy shop yet -- get a lot of inventory ready because you will have a lot of people buying your beautiful quilts!
    Best,
    gv

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  4. GORGEOUS quilts! Thanks for sharing your “creative mojo” with me on Thrilling Thursday. I hope you will be back again soon :)
    ~Lori S.
    Thrilling Thursdays @Paisley Passions

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  5. Very nice! I have quilting book that uses illustrations from the book you talk about. The artwork is so beautiful and colorful. Very inspiring!
    ~Kimberlee
    www.TheSpunkyDiva.blogspot.com

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  6. Beautiful quilts! I really like the tea rose one. =)

    Just curious, how long does it take you to make one?

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  7. I have had both of the books you mentioned for a long time. I collect children's books about quilting (see one of my recent posts)...they are so inspirational

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  8. Beautiful. I just love quilts. Every time I see one they just make me so happy. There is something amazing about the work that goes into them and the beauty that comes out of that work. Happy Friday to you!

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  9. Oh I'm going to have to order those books now! I love the quilts they inspired you to make.

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  10. Both of the quilts you created are truly stunning!

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  11. The quilts are just beautiful!!! You are VERY talented.

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  12. I agree with all these comments, the quilts are simply beautiful. I love them.

    p.s. I love the name of your blog!

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  13. Your quilts are amazing! Thank you for sharing them with us. I love The Quiltmaker's Gift and share it with my class every year. It's such a good message.

    Thanks for linking up!
    Becca

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  14. Gorgeous quilts, I am a little more partial to the inspired by the Quiltmaker because I love that book! It's such a fabulous design, I like the petal looking shapes. Thank you for joining us at A Crafty Soiree! I hope you'll come back next week and link up again!

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  15. Your quilts are gorgeous...really amazing. My friend quilts and has b'day coming up...I must check out those books!

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