As a child I used to love weeping willow trees with their beautiful pendulous branches that created a natural secret hideaway. I have a vivid memory of driving past a fine specimen and asking my mother if we could get one for our garden. Her response was less than enthusiastic.
Visit my home for a meal and you will likely eat off a Blue Willow plate or bowl. I was given my first set as an engagement present (I think) and have added to it since (although I did cheat and buy an all-white dinner set at Christmas time when I realised I needed more settings and couldn't justify spending the money on a Blue Willow set or two). It seems, that unknown to my conscious self, I have had a love affair with willows since childhood.
Perhaps that explains why the pattern I chose for our family tree was Willow from Don't Look Now. I have since fallen in love with some of Kellie Wulfsohn's other designs that in retrospect may have been more suitable for a family tree.
But Willow it is.
And it is finished.
Of course, it is not yet on the wall (and not likely to be any time soon given that our walls are freshly painted [DH hates putting nail holes in walls and especially in freshly painted walls] and our furniture is only temporarily residing in The Front Room and therefore we don't as yet know where pictures will best complement - or be complemented - by the layout of the room).
(Actually what are we going to call The Front Room? Music Room? Sitting Room? Formal Room? Lounge Room? Or are we going to keep to the habit of the last twenty-three years and still refer to it as The Front Room?)
I still need to gather electronic evidence of marriage certificates and birth certificates and photos and such things to go on a removable flash memory card that will be kept on the back of the quilt but I think I can in all honesty say that it's done.
And perhaps it's not looking so shabby after all.
Stats:
Pattern: Willow from Don't Look Now
Fabric: all cotton; scraps and specially purchased;
Techniques: hand applique; hand quilting;
Other: vines worked twice; leaves worked twice; flowers worked three times (because the second time I used buttons for the centres and DH doesn't like buttons on quilts); birds worked twice; quilting worked twice (only a small section after I decided that big stitch quilting did not suit this quilt); embroidery worked twice (for some names - until I gave up and did it freehand); binding worked once; pockets on back for hanging and another pocket for a memory stick;
Quilting: Gutermann's quilting thread used to hand quilt around vines and leaves and birds; hearts quilted in blank areas
Finished: One week and one day after our Thirty-Fifth Wedding Anniversary (after being in hibernation for close on twelve months).
And even though it has nothing to do with the quilt or our wedding anniversary, I also finished the latest scrap blanket I was working on before Christmas. I'm not sure we'll need it soon (we're enjoying lovely high temperatures for our area) but it will be waiting in the wings for when it does turn cold (and the astute will realise from my previous post that our woodburner is temporarily out of action).
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