Jewels from the Past

I'm linking up with the Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy of Amy's Creative Side.  Amy began the Blogger's Quilt Festival a few years ago to give blogger's a chance to both inspire and be inspired by other quilters.

The quilt I decided to include in my entry is a Scrappy Jewel Box.

This quilt came about as the result of a block swap among friends.  We each had a turn to choose a block pattern, and each member of the group made a block from that pattern.  I chose the Jewel Box pattern, and told my friends they could use any colors they wished.  Here is a sampling of the blocks I was given.

Rosemary made this pretty block with a some of her florals:

Linda, who is partial to jewel tones like me, gave me this vibrant block:

Lauren's block looked like it was inspired by a summer's day in the garden:

Sue's block was made of soft beige with a sprinkle of harmonizing red/browns:

Here is one of the blocks I made.  I think this is where I really noticed how much I was drawn to jewel tones in my quiltmaking.

I am amazed at how each individual block can have it's own personality, but they all work together as a group.

This quilt was made over a dozen years ago and represents a lot of "firsts" for me as a quilter.  It was the first time I ever participated in a block swap.  It was the first truly scrappy quilt I ever made.  It was supposed to be the first quilt I quilted on my sewing machine.  

At the time, the only big quilts I had made were tied.  I had never done any machine quilting, and I wanted to wait until my skills improved enough to tackle a big quilt.  I'm sad to say, that although I have since learned how to machine quilt, I have never pulled out this quilt top and finished it.

I'm glad that the Blogger's Quilt Festival gave me the push to look into the back of the closet and rediscover this Jewel Box quilt. Looking at it, and reading the signatures made me realize what a real jewel it is. It deserves a chance grow up and become a real quilt.