A Quilt for Jane

I have so much to say about this quilt and yet, it's hard to find the words. The basics: it's a Cathedral Window quilt made using this tutorial. It's about 66"x84" and has approximately 300 (mostly) unique prints for the windows (some cut and sent to me by my friend Jen, how nice, right??). There are 15 yards of white fabric in this quilt, not including the binding. It's heavy and sturdy and, at times, it was quite difficult to quilt.



But more than all that, this quilt is proof to me that I'm a good quilter, that my skills have progressed to a level I never dreamed I'd achieve. I'm just so proud of myself!



And I would never have attempted it if not for my dear friend Jane. I have wanted to make her a Cathedral Window quilt for years but never felt up to the challenge. I knew I was not good enough, knew I could not handle such a project. And then one day I just knew I could do it. I could do it for her. And so I did.



I worked on this quilt every day for two months...some days just a few minutes, some days 10+ hours. And even though it was difficult to quilt at times, even though I had some annoying tension issues, even though my machine got black grease (!) on the white fabric, even though my arms and hands and back ached...I loved every minute of making this. I know a lot of that is because this quilt challenged me, challenged my abilities and my patience. It was so satisfying to put myself to the test and come out on top.

I have never been so proud of a quilt, flaws and all. It lives with Jane now, the oh so lovely Jane who I know appreciates the beauty of flawed things.



Also, I can't resist pointing this out because I'm just SO proud of this part...the back is pieced and there is a seam in this picture. Can you see it? I know, right?!