Design Wall Monday

We attended a large family reunion this past weekend.  We gathered together at a cousin’s farm.  (For simplicity, we decided to get rid of all the first/second/third cousins once/twice/thrice removed.  We are all cousins!)  You can see the fun in the header photo.  The organizing cousins had a bean-bag toss set up to accommodate 40 players.  It was quite a tournament.

Now for the quilty stuff.  I brought fabric patches for the attendees to sign and then eventually stitched into a memory quilt for the family. 01 DWM Family Quilt The above quilt was in 2004.  It was finished with the exception of putting on a hanging sleeve.  I got the sleeve done, and then presented the quilt to the cousin’s family who hosts these reunions on their family farm.  This one couldn’t have been easier…I just started with a square and sewed some flip-and-sew corners on the blocks.

(You do have to remember to have people sign on the diagonal when you’re going to add corners.  The same is true of the quilt below.  You do that by placing the blue painter’s tape strip on the diagonal and asking people to sign in alignment with the blue tape.)

02 DWM Family Quilt In 2009, we chose smaller white squares to sign, and added nine-patches between the signature blocks.  This one is still a flimsy, and will go to a cousin yet to be determined.

This is a fun thing to do at a reunion, large or small.  One tip is to put a strip of painter’s tape on the back of each block where you want them to sign.  It makes the fabric less “wiggly”.  Also, be sure you use indelible fabric pens, and make extra blocks, as there are sure to be some do-overs.

Linking to Judy Laquidara’s Patchwork Times.

3 thoughts on “Design Wall Monday”

  1. Good question, Terri! I’m not sure I will keep one. My feeling is they belong to the “reunion”, and I would want to make sure that whoever gets a quilt would bring it back for future years. Then again, I’m really liking the pastel floral one!

  2. It’s wonderful that you give your family a chance to sign a quilt block at your reunion. What a grand idea. I like both quilts! When is it your turn to keep one?

  3. The quilt from 2004 is actually beautiful and proudly dsplayed on a wall in my home as I was the recipient. Sue has a very creative and appreciated talent!

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