Laura said Yes!

Laura said yes, I may blog her quilt! I am so excited! I have never really documented how I make a quilt so we are going to learn together! You, me, Excalibur, and may GOD have mercy on us all!

First the background. My sister's son, Rob, married beautiful Laura in June of 2006. It was a spectacular wedding in a beautiful setting (downtown Chicago Nature Center) where the people were beautiful and the food was delicious! Laura is an MD at Northwestern and her husband, my nephew, Rob is a science blogger at the University of Chicago. I guess you could say they are a paradox (pair of docs, get it?) Anyway, as I am wont to do, I "gave" the happy couple a quilt as a wedding gift. Now, when I say "gave," you have to understand that this is a very different definition of the verb than what is universally accepted. It means you go on THE LIST.

THE LIST. This list is as old as my quilting history. It is an informal laundry listing of quilts I want to make, quilts I have promised to make, and quilts I NEED to make. So it can be quite long. Laura and Rob landed on THE LIST in June 2006. Four years later, their number is coming up and they are next! There are a few rules about THE LIST: 1) I and I alone control who goes on THE LIST and in what order the quilts are made; 2) There is no line jumping on THE LIST unless I decide so (see rule #1). Daughter Becky has refined the art of line jumping on THE LIST and consequently, any future quilt for her will have to go to the bottom of THE LIST.

And so it begins... quilt in a box. The pictures show you the fabrics I have selected for Rob and Laura's quilt, which have been stored in this plastic crate under my bed for at least two years as I selected and accumulated them. They have all been washed and ironed and are ready for cutting. The tools for cutting them are courtesy of Pam Allmendinger and I am eager to try a rotary cutter. I have also purchased a strip cutting appliance but that will be the subject of another post.

Every quilt starts this way and with a paper plan. So check out the plan, Laura and Rob! Your quilt pattern is based on a tile floor in Saint Mark's Cathedral in Venice. It is important to note that I always start with a plan but I have learned to listen to the quilt because it will eventually tell me what it wants to be. So, it may turn out differently than this paper plan, kids, but I promise you will be pleased.

Of course, in our house, where quilts are, cats will also be. Here is Vinnie, our youngster, sitting on the quilt plan as he contemplates attacking that red rubber band. I couldn't do it without you, buddy!

Time for bed now. As I got little sleep last night, tonight I should be able to crash. Stay tuned for more post on Laura and Rob's quilt. I think I should post pictures of them as well, hmmmmm?

'Nite all.