B & D

This is a beautiful love, so sincere and true. As I edited these photos all I could do was soak in the tiny looks and the huge feelings each moment brought. Capturing this day was simply a dream. I didn't pose one photo, which you will find hard to believe by the end of this post, but its true. It was magic from start to finish. I wish I could have a wedding every weekend of my life to shoot, just like this one.

I'm in love...

There is a simple statement that needs to be made, I'm in love. With a quilt.

At first, when I posted a photo of my quilt to instagram and only got 20 likes I felt like maybe it wasn't as fabulous as I had thought. But then, I remembered that I made this quilt for me. I love it so much. It was hand quilted, and snuggled under happily every minute. I wanted to spend 2014 learning to quilt. And with this being my 5th quilt of the year, I feel like I can officially call myself a quilter.

I decided that I really should end the year with a quilt for my bed. I made two for Griffin, two for Sadie, and haven't finished one for Tessa (I feel pretty guilty about that). She borrows whichever one they aren't using. Making her one is top priority for 2015. Seriously. 

Here is what I learned about quilting over the course of these 5 quilts. 

1. Use fabrics you love. 

I made 4 other quilt tops this year that I ended up selling because they weren't me.

2. Don't follow the crowd.

Make what you want to make, so that you enjoy it. If you try to be just like everyone else you will just feel stressed. Enjoy the process or don't sew at all. Its supposed to be fun.

3. I love to hand quilt.

Its the only way for me. I HATE struggling with the hugeness of a quilt while trying to push it through my little machine. If I had a long armer I'm sure I would feel differently (maybe). I love the look and feel of a hand quilted, quilt. It got a different weight and feel. I enjoy the process, not so much when I do it on my machine.

So enough chit chat, here is my fabulous quilt (in my opinion) that I plan to treasure forever. My husband would only hold it for about 5 seconds so I didn't get great shots of the whole thing. To be fair, it was like 20 degrees outside.

 I was inspired to make a dresden quilt because my great grandma made one for my grandma. She is 96 and can't see well anymore, but I hope I'll get a chance to show her this. Other than me nobody in my family sews like she did. I love that I have a little bond with her in that way. I used a vintage sheet to back it, to bring a little bit of her time into it. I hope you guys can feel the love that I do.

I used Anna Maria Horner's pattern - Center of Attention Quilt from her Handmade Beginnings book.