Wedding Guest Book Quick Suggestions Needed
 

My son was married 2 weeks ago. For his wedding, I made quilt blocks for guests to sign. I have 82 signed blocks. Now the fun begins! I get to piece the quilt top and make this a very special keepsake for my son and DIL (wow! That’s the first time I used that reference).


I was thinking about adding a block in the middle of the quilt with their names and dates embroidered on it.


I want to make this really special and my creative juices stopped flowing for some reason! I would love to get feedback on the best way to piece the blocks together using sashing and borders. I may use a soft flannel for the back to make it cozy. The kids wanted an earthy look and selected 10 different prints from Summer on the Pond by Holly Taylor for Moda. I have lots of leftover fabric from all 10 prints.


Any suggestions you all have would be so greatly appreciated.


Thanks,


Sande

Oh, that's going to be a beautiful quilt for your son & DIL. The colors are so warm & rich. I don't have any suggestions but I know they will be so happy with what you decide on for the pattern & layout. Can't wait to see what you come up with & see the finished quilt.

Definitely add the names and date!

What a lovely project. However you put it together will be great and meaningful and since the fabrics are related they will work together.

I did a search on "square in a square quilts" that gave me some lovely images. I tried other searches that didn't work so well.

ditto!

Putting them together as is, can give a nice effect with how the different colours/fabrics meet to form QSTs. Then add in some more of the same fabrics to complete the design. I'd work it out on graph paper to come up with the overall design.

The colours/fabrics are going to make for a quilt shedding warmth and hugs!

Those will make a beautiful quilt for the new couple.

Your blocks are so beautiful and I am sure someone on this board will give your some awesome ideas.

What a wonderful keepsake for your son and daughter-in-law. Love the colors.

I would definitely use the flannel you suggested. So warm and cozy. Whether you sash or not might depend ultimately what size you're going for. Without seeing all your blocks together, I'm thinking a tonal that reads solid, in a color that complements the room where it'll used most, would put the focus on the blocks. Then maybe a scrappy border repeating the fabrics from the quilt?

What about making a quilt as you go, since you already have the blocks signed and you could make the center block whatever size you want.

You might want to consider putting them on the diagonal point. I have done signature blocks both ways.

The thought occurred to me that you might take the wedding invitation and enlarge it, have Spoonflower print it and make that your center block. Once you have that done, put it up on the design wall and play with it until you like it.

bkay

I really like your idea of putting it in the middle and if that doesn't put it on the back.

Not quite the same because ours was a family reunion quilt with hand prints. I hand embroidered the signatures.The quilt hanging over the balcony
[ATTACH=CONFIG]615480[/ATTACH]
The label
[ATTACH=CONFIG]615481[/ATTACH]
my signature and hand quilting
[ATTACH=CONFIG]615482[/ATTACH]
Grandma
[ATTACH=CONFIG]615483[/ATTACH]
Granddaddy
[ATTACH=CONFIG]615484[/ATTACH]

What an awesome gift!

I love the ideas you folks have expressed. I have 6.5 inch squares and hadn't thought of adding the fabrics to do square in a square. I have a pillow a friend embroidered with their dates, etc. that can go into the center as suggested. How do you think you will quilt it Sande?

Charlie, I don't know how I will quilt it yet. I'm still in the planning stages.

Great idea my granddaughter is getting married in October and I think I will go with this idea. What kind of pen did you use? And did you have freezer paper ironed onto the back to make writing on the blocks easier?

I experimented with a lot of fabric markers because I wanted to make sure the writing would stand the test of time. I went with Pentel Gel Roller for Fabric, black ink, 1.0 mm. I used white PFD (Prepared for Dyeing) 100% cotton fabric for the center square and preshrunk it. I ironed freezer paper to the back of each block to make writing on the block easier and it really was the best way to go. I made a large sample block to sit on the table so guest could experiment before writing on the blocks. I made sure to have plenty of markers on the table and some in reserve because I didn't want to run out of ink!

What a beautiful family reunion quilt! I love it! The embroidery is amazing and you gave me an idea for the center block. They had a live owl at their reception named Scooter that everyone was photographed with. I think I might try to embroider an owl on the center block along with their names and date. Thanks for sharing!

It is going to be a fantastic quilt for the young couple.