Quilt for my mother

I bought the fabric for this quilt when I went to the G-Fabric store to redeem my Groupon coupon. I saw this beautiful blue and white fabric with crabs all over it and thought of Cancer the zodiac sign that my mother shares. I bought a yard of the fabric, without a definite quilting pattern planned in my mind at that time but felt inspired to buy the fabric.

It was nearly a month later when on my mom's birthday on July 2nd, I decided that I had to begin a quilt as a birthday gift. The idea was to gift the present when I actually meet her in person, someday. I loved these pictures of the economy block with a 9 patch block in the center that saw on Bryan House Quilts. I had saved this as a possible future quilt idea on my Pinterest account. And so on her b'day I began cutting out 3" strips to make a 3X3 square block. I enjoyed making the 9 patch blocks. It was a delight to find them line up and square up perfectly - this would be one of the many moments of delight to follow.

I knew that the quilt could be personalized even more. I decided to embroider the names of all the four kids in one of the blocks. I decided to also embroider words describing my mom on the border. I emailed my siblings and asked them to send in their messages. List of words on the border included - tenacious, loving, caring, inspiring, master chef, bold, faithful, cheerful, smart, classy, wonderful, nurturing,nutty, wise, thoughtful, creative, compassionate, beautiful, brave, strong, kind, classy, dynamic, selfless, friend, comforter, intelligent, teacher, patient and mother. I alternated the fonts between upper and lower case to draw the eye to the different words and make it appear less monotonous. 

I used an easy out and bought a queen set that came with a cover and fitted sheet and pillow covers. The idea was to use the cover sheet as the backing for the quilt. This idea served a dual purpose - my mom could now use a matching set on the bed when using her quilt! 

For the backing I used this warm and natural batting that I found on Amazon - made of natural cotton fibers, ideal for using the quilt in India. I also got a good deal on the price, there was a half price off sale going on Amazon and the timing was perfect!

During the process of making the quilt, I planned a trip to see my ailing grandmother in August. This unscheduled trip forced me to work in a frenzy after work every evening to complete the quilt. This also meant that I had to forgo my plans of free motion quilting and stick to something more basic and quick. And so straight stitch in the ditch it was!

It was a delight to see my mom's face when she received her present. It was worth all the time and effort put in creating this quilt. My mother was very impressed by the finished product. I used to recite many prayers and blessings for my mother when working on the quilt. I am sure my mother will fill the warmth of the love and be uplifted by the blessings in quilt when she tucks herself to bed every night.

This quilt is the first of the many to follow for the rest of my family. I intend to complete one for my father and my siblings. My siblings might most probably receive theirs on some momentous occasion. For now I am trying to decide on a pattern suitable for my dad. I love the double wedding ring pattern however am not feeling confident of undertaking the challenge as yet!

My next quilt will have free motion quilting - I know that I want to try this out. 

In the meantime, any suggestions for a male/man quilt pattern are welcome!

Check out the perfect points in the piecing!