This Christmas Ryan and I received an amazing wedding gift: a king-sized quilt made for us by Ryan’s mother. The jewel blue batiks are pieced together in a wonderful modern pattern, so perfect for us that I can’t stop admiring it.
She chose a wave pattern for the actual quilting that was done to it, because we got married on the bay. How awesome is that? (I know the pattern is a little hard to see in my photo below.)
And on the back corner she included a sweet message.
Right now we keep it on the foot of the bed when we make the bed, because the cats sleep with us at night and we don’t want it to get hairy just yet.
Are you surprised to hear me say that? I’m usually a firm believer in using something rather than saving it – but we want this to last for the rest of our lives, so we’re not ready to let it get hairy just yet. 🙂
Showing you the quilt, however, means that you now see how we’ve undressed the bedroom quite a bit. It looks so naked to me.
Once the most “finished” room in the house, our bedroom is now naked. It’s hard to explain, but it started when we removed the too-dark nightstands that we built. Then I reluctantly removed the curtains that I had sewed, because without a headboard for the bed, the curtains got tangled on Ryan as he slept. (He’s a very active sleeper.) Then I removed the wall-mounted lamps, and replaced my wine crate nightstand with one from my parents’ house, simply because I wanted to use that Ikea lamp 🙂
What drives me craziest is the lack of curtains. Ryan’s finishing up plans for building us a king sized bed with a headboard. Once that is built, then we will add curtains back in and go from there.
February is filling up, but the bed needs to be built by the spring, so we’ll be building the bed and tackling the bedroom re-makeover in March and April.
In the mean time, I’m open to your thoughts on quilts. To use them or save them? How do you like to store them and wash them? Have you ever had issues with pets messing up quilts?
19 Comments
That quilt is gorgeous! I love the soothing blue colors and the modern pattern. I probably would try to save it too. I know a lot of people that hang their quilts on walls to display. Maybe you can do this if you don’t want to risk it getting worn. That way you can admire it without worrying about your pet getting hair all over it!
Thanks for the suggestion!
I had a family member give me a multi-color quilt for my high school graduation. And she included a box of Shout Color Catchers to throw in the wash.
I’ve used Color Catchers now for years — both for the quilt and regular loads of laundry, and it does a great job of catching the extra dyes in the water so as not to stain other clothing!
+1 Shout Color Catchers
(Recommendation: I actually used these with my black, king-sized comforter. After I started using the sheets, it’s stopped fading and now I’m contemplating finding a way to naturally dye it darker. I’ve used the sheets with a bright red, brand spanking new red shirt, too. The sheet came out R-E-D, but thankfully, none of the other clothes were tinged pink. )
My mother in-law has a large collection of quilts. Advice that I have learned from her is that you can put them on a gentle wash cycle, then air dry (preferably sun dry, if you’re able) to prevent worn stitches or fading. About the cats and any potential harm? Kim L. has the right of it! Purchase a long curtain rod (or specially quilt hanger) and showcase the very beautiful handiwork. The wave pattern coupled with the different shades of blue color palette would look lovely as art. What a fantastic wedding gift!
Going to look into color catchers – thanks! We’ll consider the hanging quilt idea, but I actually don’t think we have a large enough wall expanse. Hmm…
I’ve actually never heard of a color catcher, but since you and Michelle both recommend them I will look into it! Thanks!
Your wedding quilt is stunning! Beautiful colors. I can understand why you would want to protect it from your pets. Still, I’m not sure I would hang it on the wall. It will get dusty and probably fade too. My mother-in-law was a quilter and we have inherited a trove of lovely quilts from her. However, they are the old fashioned kind, made from actual scraps from many years worth of sewing projects. We use these now and they have not suffered from use, even with a cat. I’ve never put one in the washing machine though.
Such a gorgeous wedding gift. It’s nice to have talented relatives, isn’t it. I have several blankets & quilts that my grandmother made for me before she passed away 17 years ago. I kept them “sacred” for a few years until I got out on my own. Now we enjoy using them, that’s what she made them for after all – having said that I’m still a little wary of anything happening to them. It’s nice to have reminders of her and I think that is what she would want. I hope you get years of enjoyment out of this beautiful gift.
I love the quilt – it is beautiful!! And I say that you should use it. We have lots of old quilts that grandparents and great-grandparents made and they are, for the most part, falling apart, but that is because they have been incredibly well loved. I think my 4-H leader about had a heart-attack (she’s a quilter) because I took one with me to sleep with at a 4-H conference in high school. But we love the quilts, then, and they’ve gotten lots of use. Sadly I have a hard time sleeping with them any more due to my allergies and the fact that I have to wash all of my bedding in hot water, but I still really like them. And I have great memories of sleeping under piles of heavy quilts when the power was out for a few days during the “blizzard” of ’93 or generally any time as a kid because Ruthie and I had an unusually drafty room. =)
Anna, I remember those quilts that Melissa had and were all worn but still totally awesome. Great point. 🙂
As a person who has made a few quilts, I tend to side with people who say use them. Unless something was made to be an art quilt and hung on a wall, it was made to provide warmth and virtual hugs from the person making it. At least, that’s what I always think of when I piece a quilt. It’s lovely though. I can see why you don’t want to do anything that would damage it. I will say that it looks well constructed though. It should be able to survive regular use. This may just be me, but I tend to think it would be an honor that anything I made for someone would be so well loved that it would get some actual noticeable wear.
Gorgeous quilt. I, too, say “use it”!
Thanks for the input. After realizing our bedroom doesn’t have a large enough wall to really hang it anyway, I’m leaning towards using it. I love your way of describing it as a “virtual hug” 🙂
Use the quilt. I gave you extra blocks and binding to repair it when it needs it. I will make more, God willing. I’m sure it won’t be the last.
Ok! We shall! 🙂 xoxo
That quilt is amazing! What a special heirloom. Honestly, you make me feel so much better because our bedroom feels so bare now too! I’m trying to live with it for a while before I do much, because I want it to really reflect our style and be a comfortable space. I’m seriously questioning my interior design abilities right now!
Mikalah, you and me both!
Really love this quilt. I esp. love the colors.
[…] then . . . well, then we “undecorated” the room. I explained why in the post about the wedding quilt. We still haven’t built our new king size bed, but we’re getting closer. Maybe in […]