i made this for my second mom and sent it to her right before major surgery for ulcerative colitis a month ago. sorry pics are so late! she's going to have to have a second surgery to rid herself of the ostomy bag in a bit, and her total downtime will be about 8 months, and she needed something to lift her spirits. each block is indicative of a special time or person in her life, such as the red and cream block is called "stairway to heaven" and it is in memory of her and her best friend for all the canning and kitchen fun they used to have before she was killed in a car wreck many years back, the yellow and red one is called "coronation" and the red is for love, the yellow for friendship, and it is for her and her hubby of 40 years; you get the picture!
i had so much fun making this! i've only known what a sewing machine was since last December, and even though it is not perfect in any way, it is the first adult quilt i did from start to finish. it was also a labor on the fmq...sure looks easy on the youtube videos but holy cow! so much more challenging to keep stitches the same length and learning the trick of not letting it get all balled up underneath! i used Judy Hopkin's "Around the Block" book to come up with the patterns themselves. some of the patterns called out to me, some of them were the names, like Contrary Wife :) must always have some humor there! needless to say i believe she is pleased! such a novice i am i didn't realize that the border just swallowed two of the blocks as i had the same fabric for the outside of the block itself but that i guess just makes it that much more unique!
thanks for looking and any constructive critisism i am VERY open to. i really aspire to be like you guys someday and be able to turn out the fabulous work i see here. :)

What a beautiful quilt & story to go with it. I think it is awesome that you made something so personally meaningful for your second mom. May she cherish it & draw comfort from it in the months ahead. :)

It’s beautiful. I love the thought you put into the meaning of the blocks. How very special and made with so much love. It will bring a smile to your 2nd Mom every time she looks at it and wraps herself up in it. :thumbup:

What a beauty you should be so proud of your work!

Beautiful quilt & story. Know 2nd mom will be thrilled that you put so much thought & love into your blocks.

Lovely quilt and I bet your 2nd Mom loves it.

What a treasure!!

Your memories make this quilt more than beautiful. There will never be another one like it. You have done a fantastic job and it came from the heart, many special blessings to you :)

Very pretty, you did a great job and put so much thought into the making. She will treasure this quilt.

What a special gift you are giving. The time and thought put into each block makes this a very treasured quilt.