My absolute favorite quilt that I have finished in the past six months is my second entry into the Bloggers Quilt Festival hosted by Amy @Amy’s Creative Side this fall: I am entering the Love Letters Quilt into the Scrappy Quilt Category. (I hope my regular readers don’t mind that I post about this quilt again so soon.)
Love Letter Envelopes
When I was notified that I had been accepted into the Stash Bee in Hive 2 this year, I knew what my design inspiration for my month was going to be: the envelopes from the notes, love letters, and cards that my husband has given me over the years. As you can see from a sample of the envelopes in the image above, the envelopes are handmade and typically made from maps or other found / recycled materials.
Love Letters Block Tutorial
When I wrote the Love Letters Block tutorial in June, I hoped I would be able to put together a beautiful and meaningful quilt to gift to my husband, and my bee mates and friends did not disappoint.
My husband loves to be the first to pull a quilt out of the dryer and pet its soft (and warm) crinkly, cuddly goodness for the first time. The day I finished his Love Letters quilt, when he called to let me know he was on his way home from work (about a 30 minute commute away), I put the quilt in the dryer, poured a large cup of orange juice (his favorite beverage), and set the juice and a love letter I made for him tucked inside a handmade envelope made out of a coloring page we colored together on top of the dryer. Trust me, he knew immediately what was happening when he walked in the door.
Love Letters Quilt – Used on Day 1
Since the day he received the quilt, it has been used almost every night. In fact, as I type up this post, he is sitting in his rocking chair, reading a book, snuggled under the quilt.
Love Letters Quilt
Including myself, 14 people contributed to the creation of this quilt. The blocks were all made using fabric from our stash in one of four requested colors (blue, teal, orange or gray), giving the quilt a very scrappy but cohesive look. When I was piecing the quilt top, one envelope rotated on me. I did not notice the rotation until the top was pieced, and my husband, bee mates, and I all decided we like its quirkiness, so I left it rotated.
Love Letters Quilt – Backing
The back of the quilt is just as fantastic as the top. I had made 8 blocks myself, but I only needed to use 5 of my blocks to piece the top, which finished at 64.5-inches wide by 80.5-inches long. With 3 left over blocks, the grouping of 4 smaller blocks sent by Chelsea @Patch the Giraffe, and a handful of extra HSTs and triangles also sent along by my bee mates, it was quick and fun to put together a pieced backing, which just adds to the scrappy nature of the quilt!
Love Letters Quilt – Quilting Detail
I did not keep the creation of this quilt a secret from my husband. Instead, knowing it was for him, we collaborated together on occasion about the quilt. Per my husband’s request, I quilted with a dense back and forth line across the quilt. I also chose to quilt in “love notes” inside of each envelope: words that describe my husband or a short phrase that has a special meaning between us.
Love Letters Quilt – Quilting Detail (My Husband is Amazing)
I know first hand how wonderful it can feel when someone you love, trust, or respect tells you kind and true things about yourself. I am so glad I quilted in some long lasting thoughts and loving energy into the quilt for my husband, and I hope he feels these loving thoughts when he uses the quilt.
Love Letters Quilt – Quilting Details (My Husband is my best friend, and I feel cozy with him)
I used 50wt Aurifil 2620 (stainless steel) to quilt and bind the quilt. We auditioned several thread choices and colors, and my husband liked the stainless steel the best. It doesn’t hurt that he spends his days at work designing parts out of stainless steel for prototype aircraft…
Love Letters Quilt
Quilt Statistics
- Finished Flimsy: 64.5-inches wide by 80.5-inches long
- After Quilting / Binding: 64-inches wide by 78-inches long (3% shrinkage)
- After First Wash: 60-inches wide by 74-inches long (8% shrinkage)
About a week after he received the quilt, my husband left another note for me to find when I woke up on our bathroom mirror. Dry erase markers work great on mirrors and are easy to clean! #ShareTheLove
If this is your first visit to my blog, I hope you consider taking a look through my Tutorials and Recent Finishes and come back to visit again, soon. 🙂
I love the love letters, makes me feel so warm inside! Being married for 45 years and still surprise my husband once in a while as I like to see his eyes light up! So am getting itchy hands and making him the love letter quilt too! Thank you for the pattern idea!! And hope after 45 years you are as happy as we are still!
I love this quilt and the sentiment behind it – that you thought of so many things to make it perfect for your husband. Don’t you feel lucky that you have such a fabulous way to show how you feel to those you love? That’s how I feel when I make something for someone I love. Good luck with the festival.
A perfect addition for the quilt festival. Every time I see it I love it all over again.
So sweet that your hubs loves it – there’s nothing better than having someone really connect to one’s art! It’s a great piece.
This is one of my favorite Stash Bee quilts of all time!
Yvonne, in my opinion this post could be posted numerous times in one week and you would still receive special comments about this spectacular quilt and relationships. I think it is fabulous that you and your husband still write love messages to one another. It just makes a person happy reading it and I am sure you and hubby just sparkle with a love glow each time a love letter is left and opened. Thank you for sharing this amazing quilt and story with us and have a wonderful creative day!
I am so happy you entered this one Yvonne! Besides it being a gorgeous design, the story behind it makes it even more special!
I love this quilt and the story behind it. This quilt is so special because of the Love you created it with. Having the help of your quilting friends makes it even more special. And the fact that your husband values it so highly chokes me up.
oh I’m glad you shared this one in the festival. It’s lovely and has the best story!
This is one of my favorite quilts of yours. It definitely deserves to be showcased again and in the festival. You write about it beautifully, too. I bet hubby will love it forever.
Obviously I nominated this one for Viewer’s Choice! I’ve made Matt one quilt, the Death Star mini last year. It was so hard to keep it a secret. He is definitely overdue and deserving of a nice lap quilt, and I like your approach of involving Michael. I’m sure Matt would enjoying being apart of the process too.
So many fantastic thoughts behind this quilt, and of course it is beautiful. I’m sure your husband feels all your loving energy when he is wrapped snugly in its cocoon of goodness.
I love the story behind your quilt. How incredibly special! Beautiful quilt!
That’s the way its meant to be – giving a quilt is giving a great big hug! Lovely post!
Such a great quilt and the sweetest sentiment too. That hubby of yours, he’s a keeper!
Ahhh, you are such a lovely couple! So glad you decided to enter this one.