It pains me to be adding photos so late after the items were created. I hope to catch up over the next several days/posts. This quilt is made from a pattern on http://quiltville.com/weedwhacker.shtml - Bonnie's Quiltville.com blog - Weed Whacker! (still trying to figure out the links...) She does such amazing work!!! I fell in love with the pattern and knew I had to make it for a special friend. A friend of mine got me re-started in fabric collection and quilting. Same friend was trying to have a baby and I made this for the future baby. From the beginning I named it "Bright Hopes" and with each seam, I thought good wishes for my friend.
At the time I finished the top, my mom and I met my friend for lunch. The running joke was to immediately ask if she was pregnant yet, but for some reason I didn't that day. Halfway through lunch hour, I mentioned working on my first people-sized quilt. (I've done a pile of dolly quilts... more on that in the future.) She asked, "Who's it for?" I said, "You, of course." She got a tear in her eye and said, "How did you know?" LOL - Mom and I didn't "get it" at first! Yep, my friend was finally pregnant! Talk about timing!
I used various fat quarters, scraps I had on hand and tied them together with colorful sock-monkey themed fabric for the background. (Five Funky Monkeys, I think) It is quilted with a monkey in the middle and echoed around it. It was finished a little overe a year ago. My quilt holder is artiste extraordinaire DD. She's very creative all on her own and was excited to be tall enough to hold it up! I almost forgot the creme de la cream! It has vintage RED satin binding! It washes up beautifully - I tested it prior to putting it on the quilt, of course. I think it came from Grandma's coat lining stash - Gram is an incredible seamstress and, between her and my mom, taught me from childhood about precision (Gram) and fun/anything goes (Mom)!