Thursday, October 28, 2010

Bloggers Quilt Festival: Just Between Friends/Calendar Girls

I thought a long time about which quilt to feature for Bloggers Quilt Festival. This has been a strange year and there wasn't really a new quilt that was ready to go. So since my dear friend, Sue, passed away in March, which has kind of defined 2010 for me, it seemed fitting to feature a quilt from about five years ago, for a couple of reasons.

Perfect fabric for the back: Just Between Friends/Best Friends (by Mary Engelbreit)

Long before I knew anything about virtual quilting bees and online block exchanges, a group of us did our own block exchange. Sue picked out a focus fabric and decided we should each make star blocks, any star pattern as long as it was 12" finished. The quilting expertise ranged from quite experienced to those who had never made a quilt before but were eager to learn.

So we picked our individual star block, made 12 of the same block, and then shared them, so everyone had a set of 12 blocks, one each from every other person in the group. When we were finished, we planned an evening where we would have supper, exchange our blocks, take a group picture, and then....

Remember the movie Calendar Girls? One of our friends and her husband own a photography studio and we thought it would be fun to take individual pictures, each holding our own block, and then assemble them into a calendar.
This was the funniest part of the story. My friend, Maggie, thought it would be a "good" idea to email my parents, and here is part of what she wrote to them:

"Tonight I am checking in to see if you are aware that Cindy is Miss April...If the movie Calendar Girls is unfamiliar to you...some older women stepped out for charity. In fact, they stepped right out of their clothes for a wildly popular calendar. And Cindy has participated in a local Calendar Girls situation...In case she hasn't told you. Anyway, she is Miss April. She has a pieced 12x12 block placed strategically over her chest...kind of racy, don't you think? Well, you know how those pastor's kids can be...."

We waited and waited, and never heard a peep from my parents.  Finally, Maggie called them up and stopped by. I think they were really quite nervous as she prepared to unveil the calendar to them. Close your eyes if you're a little nervous about seeing me as Miss April...

Anyway, I love this quilt and all the fun times and good memories. Thanks, Sue...

And before you leave...I'm a sponsor for Bloggers Quilt Festival. Leave a comment on Amy's blog and you will have a chance to win one of these selvage pincushions, custom-designed especially for this fall's BQF. See? It even says "BQF 2010" in the middle of the pincushion.

Enjoy the rest of the show!

66 comments:

05 08
Karen said... #

What a super special quilt. It is just beautiful.

Nina Marie said... #

OMG - pretty quilt but what a great story and love how your friend shared with your parents - toooooo funny!!!!

Kate said... #

A beatiful quilt, with a great story.

Anne at Film and Thread said... #

That's a funny story about the calendar! I love that your quilt has so many memories tied up in it.

Nat Palaskas said... #

A very special to share at the festival - thank you - Nat

ktquilts said... #

Beautiful quilt! So glad that you have such a great momento of good times with a great friend. You make a wonderful Miss April!!

Angie Padilla said... #

I absolutely love that movie, so really enjoyed reading your story. And you share something that for me is essential to quilting, which is the building of friendships. On top of that, I have a soft side for traditional quilts, love red, and find this monochromatic quilt is really quite striking. I'm sure this will be a quilt to treasure for many, many years. Thank you for sharing.

Jocelyn said... #

Love the quilt! It's beautiful. And such a great story behind it.

randi said... #

what an awesome quilt, and it's only made better by the story behind it. it's a treasure!

Jolene said... #

You made me laugh! And it's a lovely quilt made extra special because of the memories.

Grandma G said... #

What a treasure that quilt must be, for many reasons! And the calendar idea was really cool!

I love your block, Miss April!

Vicki said... #

beautiful quilt! (i'm going to email you a question about my pincushion I got from you at last festival.)

beth said... #

beautiful quilt and funny story. ;)

by George! said... #

I have Sue's version of that quilt out now, too.

Jennifer said... #

This story is really special and so is the quilt! I think I'm always going to have "Mrs. April" in the back of my mind when I read your blog from now on.

Thanks for sharing, friend!

Jennifer :)

felicity said... #

Well, Miss April, that's a gorgeous quilt and a beautiful story. What a wonderful tribute to your friend!

Chris said... #

What a great quilt. I love friendship quilts for the memories too.

Anonymous said... #

What a great story and beautiful quilt.

Terriaw said... #

This is such a beautiful quilt. But the story behind it is even more amazing! I love each and every star, and I love that you have a star block made by each of your friends. Thanks for being a sponsor for the festival! Love your BQF selvages!

Kristen said... #

Great idea and beautiful quilt.!

Carol said... #

Love the quilt. It came together so well. The story is hilarious.

Doris said... #

What a fabulous story, and I'm so sorry you lost your friend, Sue. Peace and hugs...

Anonymous said... #

I love the layout you chose, and the border you added, being half white and half print - on different halves. :-)

Such a great memory of time spent with friends.

~ Meagan
SnippetsAndYarns at gmail dot com

Sand and Sunshine said... #

A beautiful quilt and a beautiful story. To funny about the note to your parents. Miss April indeed! Love the salvage edge pin cushions. I'm a secret collector of salvages edges (shhh). In fact I just took them out today and made certain that while I was more busy I hadn't crushed any of them in the container I keep them in as they'll be my very own spider web quit, someday.

Anonymous said... #

Great Story quilt, and oooooh I love the new pin cushions!!

Anna @FreshDewDrops said... #

Lovely quilt. Love the story behind it. Thank you so much for sharing, Cindy.

Kaye Prince said... #

Oh gosh Cindy, that's a great story!

The Quilt Ladies said... #

Great story and nothing better than red and white.

Jen said... #

It's beautiful! I love the backing. And this quilt is so special in so many ways!

Deanna said... #

I really like the border! Very interesting design.

~Niki~ said... #

hey there :)
I'm anxiously awaiting your email about the box :)
I have so many holiday projects I'm going to be working on ~soon.
:)
lovely quilt

Allie said... #

What a GREAT story, and a wonderfully beautiful quilt! What a great group of friends you have. I'm so sorry you lost Sue.

Karen said... #

I love, love, love red and white quilts!!! Loved the story!!!

Lesly said... #

The story is wonderful - I love the red and white stars. Thanks for sponsoring the festival - your pincushions are so cute!

Linda said... #

Beautiful quilt and what a fun story to go along with it!

Karen said... #

What a great quilt and a wonderful story. Love the idea of the calendar. Great fun!
The red and white looks so good in the stars. It came together well.

Terry said... #

It's always fun to share with other quilters. You make a great Miss April
Great memories.

grendelskin said... #

It's a pretty quilt and a great story - thanks for sharing both! (And your pincushions are cute and clever!)

Quiltbenaco said... #

Bella storia per questo quilt stellare!
Ciao Domenica

Dresden Quilter said... #

It is a gorgeous quilt. I love the calendar.

Vicki @ DottyJane said... #

A beautiful quilt and story! Thanks for sharing:)

quiltmom anna said... #

Cindy,
Quilts are special and this one has a particularly beautiful story. I love the red backing- Mary Englebreit makes fabulous fabric designs.
I am sorry for the loss of your dear friend. May your quilt bring you comfort and fond memories of someone who was obviously a special person.
Thank you for sharing this treasure/
Warmest regards,
Anna

SewSara said... #

i love the back -- mary engelbreit is a favorite. what a great story behind the quilt as well. i'm sure you really miss your friend.

the pincushions are adorable also!!

Annette said... #

Great story, and beautiful quilt!

Sandra said... #

What a delightful quilt-thanks for sharing its story. And thanks for sponsoring the show--I so want a selvage pincushion.
Hope you can visit my entries: 1890 antique school house and black/white/pink scrappy miniature.

Carla said... #

Thank you for sharing the story with us. It makes the quilt even more that special.

Marit said... #

That's a fantastic story! The quilt is lovely, too. I am sure you all had so much fun with the calendar.
Sorry to hear about your friend.
Your pincushions are so fun - love how you put BQF 2010 in there...
; )

mamammelloves said... #

What a lovely and special quilt! :)

Anonymous said... #

Great story and beautiful quilt!

Joanna said... #

What a wonderful memory for a beautiful quilt. It's lovely.

Leslie said... #

what a fun story!! this quilt is great. i love the red!!!

pinsandneedles said... #

What a great story and a beautiful quilt!

Ariane said... #

This quilt is gorgeous!!! The story is so wonderful! Thanks for sharing!!!

Janet said... #

What fun you had with Sue! Lovely memories with this quilt.

em's scrapbag said... #

Beautiful quilt with a great story.

Riel Nason said... #

A great contribution to the BQF. I also wanted to say that I saw the magazine with your selvage pincushions in it at my local quilt shop way up here in New Brunswick, Canada. Congrats!

Christine said... #

Fun story to go with your pretty quilt. Thanks for sharing!

Megan said... #

I love your stars and I am a huge fan of just RED! Gorgeous!

ScissorsandThread said... #

I love the simplicity of the colours in this quilt and its a lovely story behind it.

Eileen said... #

your quilt is just lovely. i love stars, i love red and white, i love mary englebreit, love your story of friends doing this together, the calendar thing is hysterical. wow!! love it, love it!!! thanks for sharing and have a great day

Anonymous said... #

What a perfect choice to feature for the festival. Wonderful story about the quilt.

Sarcastic Quilter said... #

I'm sorry to hear of your loss but I am glad you have such happy memories. Thank you for sharing.

Jonathan said... #

What a great story to go along with such a beautiful quilt! I'm sorry about your friend, I hope you can take comfort in all the good memories you have of her.

Diane said... #

What a special story and a lovely quilt.

p.s.phyllis sews said... #

Thank you for sharing a very special quilt with a really funny and wonderful story about a great friend!

amy smart said... #

Lol! So funny. And such a gorgeous quilt and special story. I had some of that MEnglebreit fabric and I loved it. What a prefect use for it! (And I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend. I know that feeling.)