Our Celebration Quilt

With one month to go, we are stepping it up a notch with our celebration preparations. Today was a big day because we had to make a lot of financial commitments, so i guess the celebration is on for sure! We are so excited, but hope that this next month goes smoothly....who am i kidding, there will always be something!

Joel and i wanted to use this time and forum to let our guests know about our guest book idea. Instead of a guest book that we will probably never pull out again, we wanted to do something that we will cherish and that also represents us. So, due to my love of all things crafty, we have decided to make a celebration quilt, and are asking guests to contribute a square to it. Also in keeping with Joel's Mennonite heritage, we thought a quilt would be a perfect gift for us, and a great thing for all our guests (aka community) to contribute to.

We are planning to make a quilt of panels, with personalized cotton canvas squares mixed in with my vintage fabric pieces. During the big day, we will have 9 x 11 pieces of cotton canvas available for people to write on, to draw on, or to create something on. We'll have fabric markers and some fun craft supplies available. But, if anyone wants to do something beforehand, feel free! If there is an image you would like to transfer onto fabric, go ahead. If there is a photo of us, or a poem you would like to use, got nuts! If you would like to be inspired by quilts, Denyse Schmidt is a great resource, and has been very helpful for me. Don't feel pressure to make something perfect, and be as creative as you like - because we are ALL creative! We're hoping people can write something on their piece of fabric, but you can also draw an image or find something you like to transfer. If you want to learn more about transfering things, go here or here for more info! And, if you do make something before July 15, make sure you bring it with you to the island, so that we have all the pieces together. Sometime after that, i'll be having a nice date with my sewing machine and piecing all the lovely art together!