I’ve written a lot lately about the inspiration for my quilts and the process I go through when designing quilts for special recipients. Now that my sister’s wedding quilt has been delivered, I can share the thought process behind its creation.
My sister and her husband live in Colorado and see the Rocky Mountains on a daily basis. Their save-the-date card and wedding cake included mountain images. So, I started with the Delectable Mountains block that I’ve already used in other quilts for family members. I also turned to Colorado’s state flower, the columbine, for the center medallion applique.
Next, I raided my batik horde for some of my favorite purples and blues as colors that evoke the “purple mountain majesty” of the Rockies. I originally thought that I would start with a dark purple in the lower right hand corner of the quilt and graduate up to a pale blue, but the layout didn’t work. It was at that point that I came up with the idea to have blue on one side representing my sister’s husband and purple on the other side representing her. Their colors unite in the middle in a shared teal color surrounding the center medallion that represents their union in marriage.
Most of the quilting that I did on the quilt was in simple straight lines and cross hatching, but I did a triple cable design in the border to represent the three members of the family: my sister, her husband, and my nephew. My nephew is also represented by a Colorado Hairstreak butterfly in the center medallion.
