A Blessingway Quilt

So here is the last quilt I hope to create without forethought...my dear friends' Blessingway Quilt.  

My mother and her sister organized a 60 year anniversary quilt for their parents that I will never forget.  It hangs beautifully in my Granny's room now showing off all the talent of some of the best quilters in West Texas:  hand embroidery, pressed under appliques and patchwork designs of the pros.  The image of that quilt inspired me to try and create one for my friends' Blessingway.

I started without a true understanding of quilt construction, and simply asked everyone invited to send me a 9" square (notice the sweet drawings from her husband and other children). That's it.  I gave no other instruction unless asked and the squares you see were the ones I received ( I did make the hearts to follow the theme two people started and tried to find colors that fit while my 1 year old yelled at the top of her lungs).  But really all I knew at the time was that if I sewed those squares together and sandwiched them the outcome would be a quilt.  Since starting this project I have learned much, but not in time to affect the actual design which is altogher endearing and perfect for what it is, just not what I would plan now...  this beauty is another rung in the ladder of my learning.  I free motioned it for fun and practice ( my first time) and because well, a Blessingway, in general, is pretty free motion.

Here is the altar I created to honor the mama to be.  I center the Blessingway around a Mother Earth theme and chose fruits and nuts and flowers and leaves to show the creation happening around us all the time.

 I made this halo for her with wire and roses.

The nitty gitty details and my humble advice for making a community quilt.

1. Know how to quilt ( if you don't, like I didn't, just fake it and read up they'll love it anyway)

2.  Do not trust that anyone can cut a perfect 9" square.  Instead ask for them to send their creation on a piece of fabric that you will later cut to size

3. Choose a color scheme ( or don't, like I didn't, and watch how everyone choses colors that with enough free thinking do really work together)

Let me know what you think of it.