I read a while back that the quilt pattern mostly likely to be left unfinished and abandoned when the quilter has moved on to Quilting Heaven is…..the Grandmother’s Flower Garden. I can totally relate to this. I have a GFG that is now about 14 years old.
- Growing a Grandmother’s Flower Garden Quilt
Once upon a time in America, I belonged to a lovely quilt guild. A speaker came to a meeting and taught us to do English Paper Piecing. It was very nice and all, and when I got home from the meeting, I put my little hexagons in a nifty plastic shoebox which ended up at the back of the closet.
Fast forward a couple of years to my engagement to a lovely English man and an invitation to meet his family in England. I always take handwork on trips, and I thought how wonderful it would be to bring an ENGLISH paper piecing project with me. Cultural sensitivity! I will fit right in with my new in-laws, I thought! On the red-eye flight from Dallas to Manchester, I amazed and impressed a variety of British Airways flight attendants who had never heard of English paper piecing before but said they thought it was cool. I think they were probably humouring me. 😉 I got a similar reaction from my new family members.
Over the years, the project has become very well-traveled. It has gone to France, back to America, to Scotland, and to various points of interest in England. I took it with me on our family holiday this year. And if I put it on my blog, I think that will strengthen my commitment to finishing it because — if I don’t finish it, I will 1) be very embarrassed, or 2) have to delete this post and disavow any knowledge of it. I think that’s probably cheating.
Anyway, I can tell I’m making progress now because my little quilt is definitely growing. It’s getting harder and harder to get the lid back on that shoebox!
I am about to embark on a Grandmother’s flower garden. I just found this blog and I am wondering how you are doing on your growing garden? I see that the date is from 2008. I hope you are progressing. Will give me hope! I have so many tiny squares of fabric and just cannot bring myself to toss them!! By the way, had any of your English in-laws ever heard of English paper piecing? Just curious!
Janet Weise from Tennessee
Hi Janet, I’m sad to say that I have not worked on that project at all recently, poor neglected UFO that it is. And I may have to modify my original plan and make it into something smaller. I love the pattern and the idea of having it as a bed quilt, but nature is overruling my ambition. I’ve got arthritis in my right thumb now, and I’m not able to do as much handwork as I used to. I’m using my smallest scraps now to make Crumb Blocks by Bonnie Hunter’s method, which works well on the sewing machine. Good luck on your project, and thanks for visiting me! 🙂
Don’t give up on it. I have been doing a 2 1\2 hex. Now I have it in my quilting frame. I’am hand quilting it. Also been doing a smaller verison. I have been quilting for about 2 years now. I’ve done about 7 quilts on my own. But this is my first paper pieced. Good Luck. Pooh Bear from Missouri
Hello Pooh Bear! What a happy screen name you have! 🙂 Thank you very much for the encouragement. I haven’t worked on that project for a good long while, but it’s always in the back of my mind. Well done to you for having your project in the quilting stage now. Hand quilting is so beautiful! Take care.