Two Times the Charm, Three Weeks In

It's now three weeks since Matt and Christian got married in Provincetown, and the quilt I'm making to celebrate their relationship is well underway.


I thought it would be cool to ask their friends - and those who haven't met them, but who love the fiber arts - to contribute interesting and beautiful fabrics to this project. Trading and sharing is a grand tradition in quiltmaking, especially in the rare and wonderful bedcoverings of the Charm Quilt variety - a kind of quilt that's always intrigued me.


To make a Charm Quilt (sometimes known as a Beggar's Quilt), the quiltmaker begs, borrows (and doubtless thieves!) his or her way to a vast palette of fabrics, each of which appears only once.

This is all well and good, but weddings aren't about being single or alone...they're about being part of a happy couple. Therefore, in this quilt, each fabric will appear twice.


And so....let's call this a Two Times the Charm Quilt.


I chose the tumbler shape after some discussion with one of the contributors...it's modern, it's not fussy, and it's a bold geometric. Plus, it tesselates! And everyone loves a tesselator.

The massive pile of fabric I've accumulated has gone from this:



To this:




Here's a sampling of what's arrived so far.


Marta D. - a lady well known to the couple - sent in a whopping 23 pairs of tumbler shapes to be sewn into the quilt. I couldn't believe it when I opened the envelope...and what variety!


Here's a snazzy African-inspired print....




And a lovely grey tribute to one of the boys' hobbies, cycling!




Alexa M. works at the same university as Matt in New York City, and like Christian is a graduate of one of the Pioneer Valley's Five Colleges (Smith in her, and my, case; Amherst in his). In the midst of a very nice package of all different varieties - the lady likes her crafts! - Alexa sent in some really sweet prints, like this vintage-inspired Katie Jump Rope Geranium pattern:





Deborah B. has never met the boys, but she's a very talented seamstress. She lives in gritty Shoreditch, London - where I sometimes travel to use her 60's Bernina sewing machine, Berni. Here's her buzzy contribution, just one of the fabrics she supplied:





It's been hard to get gentlemen involved in this project. Don't they know, the love of fabric is for everyone? Stuart P., husband of my good friend Sarah, contributed this gingham, erm, perhaps without his knowledge - it used to be part of a Marks + Spencer's work shirt. Thanks, Stuart!





And, last for now - Margaret R. is a master quilter from the Upper West Side. I know Margaret through her daughter, Emily (whom Matt and Christian might have encountered at my own wedding). Margaret sent in this bright patch (amongst others) with a seventies floral feel - gotta love the acid green!




I'm waiting on a couple of deliveries (Ebay and Etsy have been instrumental in this project), and then we'll be very close to my goal of 108 (or more!) different fabrics. Next time, I'll introduce the rest of the contributors, and perhaps give you a peek at the fabrics I've been collecting myself.


Thanks to everyone for their generosity! More quilt pieces - and contributors - soon.