Relatively Speaking


Wait a minute! Didn't I just post this picture a week or so ago? Well, yes. But I'm posting it again because (a) the pattern has arrived and (b) there's a little story to tell. And, due to the complexity (12 complicated pieced blocks, 20 appliqué units), this project is going to be around for a long time.

First, someone asked about the pattern. I found it at Needles and Pins, located somewhere in Oz. I want to give an unsolicited shout-out to Kaye, who was lovely to work with. She sent the pattern very quickly. It wasn't inexpensive -- $25 American plus postage from Australia -- but considering the intricacy of the pattern, that doesn't seem really out of line price-wise. I wandered around Kaye's site a bit and, friends, if complicated patterns are your thing, you'd think you'd died and gone to heaven. 

Now for the story. When I was sixteen years old, this truly wonderful thing happened to me. I became an aunt! The year before my small family had been halved. My sister got married and moved to a different state (not terribly far, but still) and my father died very suddenly. It was just me and my mother left at home, and that was the least favorable combination among the four of us.

Anyway, in April of that year, my niece, Susan, was born, and she's been a blessing to me ever since. Joe and I lived far away during most of her and her sister's growing up years, but the connections remained strong, and when Susan graduated high school, I told her to stop calling me "Aunt Nancy" because I wasn't old enough to have such a grown-up person for a niece. She then proceeded to always introduce me to her friends -- of which there were countless -- as "My Relative, Nancy." From time to time I'll find a greeting card "To A Wonderful Relative" that I'll send her. When I posted the previous picture of The Aunts' Quilt, Susan opined, "If you're going to make that, you'll have to call it The Relative's Quilt." She's right.

I'm going to make it. I'm not going to use Gina Gregory's color scheme. I'd like to use my regular blue-purple-green-rose scheme, but those scraps are depleting quickly. I'm thinking of starting with a bag of scraps I came by from my friend Pat -- all citrusy colors -- I think that would be fun and make a bright quilt, but I'm afraid that the whole time I was making it I'd feel as though I was wearing someone else's clothes.

Writing this, the solution has become obvious: Purchase more fabric! In purples and blues and greens and mauves and roses. Thank you for helping me reach this conclusion.




Comments

very pretty....can't wait to see it "materialize"...no pun! and i too have seen a LOT of gorgeous patterns from australia that i have yet to acquire....
Quiltdivajulie said…
Happy fabric shopping - this one will be glorious in your colors (and I'm so happy you are staying in "your skin").
Barbara Anne said…
Love the quilt, love the story, and love your conclusion - shop for lovely fabric. Bliss.

Yesterday I got a Connection Threads catalog and they sell labels similar to that fabric you found called Tag Alongs or something like that. Four labels come in a package and all say "This took forever". With this complicated pattern, you may need those labels! Enjoy!

Hugs!
Scrappy quilter said…
That is going to be one amazing quilt.
AnnieO said…
What a great family story! I agree with your need to make this quilt in exactly the colors you favor. And having the name of the quilt prior to starting is pretty fantastic.
Janet O. said…
Nancy, I love your story.
That is a really happy quilt, and will be gorgeous in your colors.
Seriously, you need to shop for fabric? That will be a trial. : )
Kath said…
What a lovely story! nearly all my quilts have a little story attached, it makes them a bit more special don't you think?
Yes fabricshopping is the way to go, it has to be done :-D
sulli said…
Useful article, thank you for sharing the article!!!

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