Instead of the usual guest book for wedding guests to sign, my new DIL decided it would be great to have their guests sign quilt blocks...so she picked the pattern and the colors, I sewed up the blocks and spray-glued them into the guest book. If you haven't worked with fabric spray glue before, it's very forgiving, and movable! After the reception I brought the book home, removed the quilt squares and made copies of them and put the copies back into the book (just in case the finished quilt ends up being washed to death they'll still have a record of who came to their reception) and then I set about sewing the blocks together.
Only a quilter would know not to write all the way to the edge of the fabric because a seam allowance is needed - so even though there was a note on each page asking people to not sign all the way to the edge, many did. Luckily, after being sewn together, almost all of the comments/signatures are still readable! The photograph on the table is of the bride's grandparents...the bride wore the very same dress as in the picture! Also, the bride's bouquet is on the table and it's wrapped with lace from her mother's dress! The details in the wedding/reception were pretty amazing!
When I was sewing the blocks together I noticed a few interesting signatures...Bill and Hillary Clinton...Michelle and Barack...Miley Cyrus, Paula Abdul, Ted Nugent and even a beyond the grave comment from Chris Farley! Funny, I don't remember seeing them at the reception! Even the boy's favorite band, GUAR, stopped by to sign the book! I suppose they all just blended in with the crowd!
One advantage to using spray glue is the fabric is a bit stiff, making it super easy to sew and have the points and corners line up.
The bride picked the border fabric from pictures of fabric I sent her on my phone - and I think she made a great choice. (If you click on the pics above you'll be able to see President Obama's signature...which is oddly familiar.)
This turned out to be a nice lap-size quilt, it measures 60x60-inches. The signatures were all written with Sharpie permanent markers and then heat set to hopefully make them even more permanent. I pieced the back with scraps and with any luck at all I might be able to give this to the newlyweds on their month anniversary!
Speaking of the newlyweds, they are deliriously happy! They are all moved into their new home and it's like something out of a magazine...absolutely adorable...I'm so happy for them, things could not be more perfect!
Note to any brides out there who think this may be a great idea for them: This only works if someone you know is a quilter/sucker and is willing to sew the blocks into a quilt for you because I doubt you could find someone to PAY to do this!
