The Girlfriend Quilt September 26 2023 4 Comments

In December of last year, my son Adam (17 years old) asked me if I could make his girlfriend a quilt for her birthday which was in June.  My schedule was pretty full, and I was determined to make progress on a hand applique quilt for his graduation which was not until May 2024, but I was also tickled that he would want me to make her one.

As you know, not everyone is quilt worthy and they had only been dating for about 5 months at the time he asked, but this was his first love, and he promised to help in the process.  I couldn't help but say YES!

Adam and I spent time together looking at quilts and patterns that incorporated turtles since he really wanted to make her a turtle quilt.  We searched high and low and came across a laser cut kit that was on pre-order and scheduled to ship in April.

This was perfect at the time because it would allow me to make progress on some other projects and finish this one in time for her birthday in late June.  Unfortunately, the arrival of the kit was delayed until late May, but we pressed ahead with the goal of at least getting the turtle fused on as the center medallion so she had something to open on the day of her actual birthday.

Adam was super helpful in transferring the design on the patio door for placement of the pre-fused pieces.

I was impressed by his shape recognition and ability to quickly match the pre-fused share to its destination when it was time to fuse the pieces to the background.  While good at math, he has always insisted he doesn't like Geometry.  I think quilting has changed his perspective.  As I like to tease him...life without Geometry (and quilting) is pointless ;)

While I did the bulk of the fusing and machine applique, he did give my machine a try.  He was surprised at how fast it could go!

I decided to use Art Gallery Pure Solids to add improve wavy borders to make the quilt larger and to keep a modern and beachy look and feel.  Marian my local longarmer did edge to edge quilting with a fun, wavy quilt design to complete the look.

I don't have pictures from when we gifted the center medallion, but it was worth the wait to see her reaction when receiving the finished quilt!  We decided to surprise her one September morning at the beach before school.

Have you made a quilt with your son or daughter or maybe even a grandkid? Let us know in the comments below.  It is certainly one of my favorite memories indeed!