Love Entwined: Part 4 is Launched

Finally, the flowers!

Have you been longing for this month as much as I have? When I was drafting this pattern I had to keep reminding myself that I wanted the flower vases to appear hand drawn and purposefully imperfect. And yet, they had to be both simple and exaggerated. This is an intense quilt with a lot of ideas in the design.

Now that we're 4 months in, we've all had a lot of time to think about the era and immerse ourselves on quilts from the period. This month, I am considering the relevance of broderie perse throughout the quilt. Broderie perse is definitely a suitable technique and feels so authentic for the pattern so if you're thinking about it, go ahead and see if it will work for you. My feeling is that it will depend on the fabric itself and whether or not the prints you have lend themselves, size and style wise. Having scrutinised the quilt, it's clear that there is a lot of what appears to be broderie perse as well as embroidery and stitches. Embroidering / stitching the vines and stems is definitely another option and this is what gives the original coverlet its 'lighter' look where the vase and flowers are concerned, so do give it some thought.

I have much more to say about using broderie perse with this pattern and I will be publishing a blog post about broderie perse next week to discuss this.

For me, the flowers really take me somewhere. I get lost in the romanticism of these four vases. They are flourishes which centre the quilt. You've done a lot of work to get this far, and now it's all getting visually exciting. Looking at the quilt as a design now, you can really see it taking shape. And appreciate how much thought and planning went into making it a reality over 223 years ago.

I wish I knew more, because the longer I spend with this quilt the more convinced I become that it belonged to a young woman. Of course that's just my opinion. I don't know anything for certain: we don't even know who made this quilt or why.

It will just have to remain a beautiful mystery. But there is a niggling voice that keeps telling me someone, somewhere must know something of the marriage this coverlet was made for. Somewhere forgotten in an old record book, in an archive, somewhere the details of our mystery woman sit, forgotten. Perhaps an old manor house was home to the quilt and somewhere, sepia stained photos have documented it's path in the lives of a family. But where? We can only guess.

If you've come this far on the LE journey, you appreciate the time, fabric, skill and resources required to embark on such a coverlet. What woman, in 1790 (or there abouts), had all these things? Did she make this quilt as a daughter...or as a wife? Questions, Questions...

This is what we are up to, quilt wise:

you'll notice I keep fiddling with the colours, that's because this is just a sketch of the quilt and I keep changing my mind! I haven't actually started my own yet, as I do I will be posting tutorials right here. So if you haven't started, there's still time. I know some of you just aren't ready and I'm not either, it's fine, we're all working at our own pace. And the patterns are still available for free in my Yahoo BOM Group so you're not too late.

If you are creating a tutorial on your own blog, don't forget to link your specific blog post (not general URL) over over in the Love Entwined Page at the top of this blog - its a linky resource for all quilters and another way for us to connect and share our LE journey.

Can't wait to see what you'll do this month,

although I already know you'll do amazing things!

I'm posting early this month as I don't like to launch BOMs on Sundays,
each Part is usually released on the 15th.

‘Love Entwined 1790 Marriage Coverlet’ is a Free 18 Month Historic BOM

Each ‘block’ of the month is released monthly, on the 15th of each month. All ‘blocks’ are available for free during the month of their release. Any missed ‘blocks’ may be purchased.

All ‘blocks’ are available for download via my Yahoo BOM Group only