"Picnic" quilt
 

Here are photos of a "picnic" quilt which I made and we gave away in a drawing at our annual family reunion this year which is always on Easter Sunday. Apologies for the photos, which were made at the last minute in the driveway!

Funny story about this quilt.....please forgive the length.

Our annual family reunion has always been called The Easter Picnic because many years ago, our grandfather suggested a picnic on Easter Sunday instead of the usual family dinner at the house. Our Easter Picnic is now a very old tradition -- and is no longer a picnic but held in a family house! -- and so last year when I came across a photo online of a quilt labeled "Picnic", I thought that was the pattern name, and decided to make a quilt like it and give it away at our Picnic. What the quilter actually meant, however, was that the quilt, which was basically square, could be used as a picnic quilt. By the time I realized that....and that the pattern was really a "friendship" or "signature" quilt, I was committed, having already cut the pieces. I ended up making two tops because in the middle of the first one I realized I didn't want to mix prints and solids of the eight colors I had chosen to represent the eight children (our parents) of our grandparents. I had time to finish and quilt only one last year, which we then gave away, by drawing, at the Picnic. Eligible recipients for that one were the children of the original eight siblings (all our parents are now, sadly, deceased), and, ironically, the most senior cousin won it. This year the eligible recipients for the second quilt, were the next generation, or the grandchildren of the original eight siblings.......if that's not too complicated, lol!

The label reads: "Easter Picnic" quilt No. 2
Created in memory of [names of eight siblings, redacted for privacy],
the children of [names of our grandparents, redacted for privacy]
The colors represent the eight siblings; the music notes represent our family's talent for and love of music; the heart represents our family's
closeness.
Pieced and quilted by
[name redacted], April 2019.

The quilt measures about 80x80. Thanks for looking!

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Great story and lovely quilt to illustrate.:thumbup:

great quilt

Wonderfully colorful & fun Picnic quilt.

Your quilt is fabulous in both the design and colors! I love the idea of a family picnic for your celebration. Are you going to give clues for what you're doing for next year?

What a wonderful family tradition and wonderful story and awesome quilt! Love the colors and glad you kept them pure.

What a wonderful idea! That must have been a big hit and so nice that you made such a personal label. I love the quilt too!

Nice quilt and what a nice tradition to do. Hope your family had a Blessed Easter and the winner loves the quilt.

Beautiful spring quilt.

What a great story and memory. The quilt is fun!

That is a great story! What treasures for your family. Great quilt!

What a wonderful idea! A great start for a lovely family tradition! Now you can make a quilt a year with the winners of previous quilts ineligible to win again. Soon everyone in your extended family will have a beautiful reminder of their grandparents,... or great grandparents. ----Maybe you could convince a few other family members to start quilting also to help you.

what a great idea.

Could you please tell us where to find the pattern? Love your quilt

That is so cheerful.

Great story! Love the quilt.

Great story and beautiful quilt.

Thanks to everyone who commented and complimented!

I've half promised another quilt next year for the next generation. We'll see! There is at least one other "sometime" quiltmaker in the family but she is busy -- she sings with the city symphony -- so not sure she'd have time to help, and anyway, I don't mind doing it.

Here's a link to one of the images I saw online; there are, or were, several. The one I saw was labeled "picnic" which is why I thought that was the pattern. http://dresdenquilter.blogspot.com/2...al-picnic.html

I never had an actual pattern. I just drew up a block similar to the image....and my quilt had far fewer blocks. As I said, this pattern is actually known as a "friendship" or "signature" block -- the white space is for writing or embroidery of a name. My individual blocks measured about 12 inches.

I tried to upload photos of the first one I made and gave away last year but for some reason photos won't load. It's essentially the same as this year's, but the back is slightly different, with the musical note print only surrounding the heart, and with multicolored print borders.

Beautiful quilt and heartwarming story! That's what quilting is all about.

What a great and colorful picnic quilt. Makes me want to go on a picnic! Great job!

very colorful and yummy! I don't mind winning this quilt!

Great quilt! Love the thoughtfulness you put into this quilt! Also love the beautiful workmanship!

I made that quilt. It’s a Kim Brackett pattern in her book Scrap Basket Sensations. And it is actually called Picnic.

Love the quilt, its meaning and your story! A family heirloom for sure.

I so enjoyed your story and it is a wonderful quilt. Thank you for sharing. Happy Easter to your family.

What a fun family story. Family time is so important but sometimes life just seems to get in the way. Good luck with the next quilt. thanks for posting.

Love the story and the quilt. BrendaK

Every quilt has a story. I enjoyed reading about your family reunion. Your quilt is lovely. I like how you added the scrappy border. Great back art. Thanks for sharing a great picture.

Beautiful quilt with so much of your family history represented.

Great quilt and tradition!

Oh, I love this. Front and back!