Nicole is one remarkable human being...She is set to leave for college this August at age 17 - having graduated high school two years early because she is so brilliant! And what makes Nicole even more amazing is she was born with a genetic disorder, requiring her to undergo dozens of surgeries throughout her life and she not only endured them, she did so with a smile and a sweet disposition. This smart, beautiful young woman is such an inspiration to her family and friends - she won my heart when, at age 12, she informed me that she wanted to be a wedding planner and was thrilled when I gave her my collection of wedding invitations that I had saved over the years! I remember thinking at the time, "Finally, someone who appreciates the trivia of my life!" Oh well, while I have not moved on, Nicole has and she no longer wants to be a wedding planner...she's probably going to be a rocket scientist, but deep down inside I know she'll always love tulle and fluff...a girl after my own heart...and I'll always love her.
Nicole loves jewel tones so that's where I started - but this top took some unexpected turns before it was finished. I began by cutting large diamond-shaped pieces from the various fabrics - but that didn't seem to work, then I cut the diamonds into quarters and resewed them, mixing up the fabrics. That worked better...and then the diamonds were sewn together on the diagonal but all those bias pieces were beginning to get a bit wavy...to stop the stretching I opted to set the points of the diamonds on the straight of grain, which made the top lose the diamond effect and now it looks like a bunch of half-rectangle-triangles sewn together...but it was either that or else she'd have a quilt that was filled with puckers (I'm sure there will still be a few but hopefully she won't notice!)
The back is pieced with scraps - okay, big scraps, but I needed to get it out the door to be quilted! When it comes back I hope I remember to take a picture before I send it off. Nicole has one more surgery before she leaves for school and I'm hoping this gets to her by then.
This quilt has been on the "drawing board" for months, so it feels really good to tick this one off the list! I can truly say this quilt was sewn with love - I hope it keeps Nicole warm and cozy while she's at school rolling around in it with her new boyfriend...I'm just saying!