The MOB Quilt

Today my favourite niece Julia and her husband Ryan celebrate two years of wedded bliss. To mark the occasion Betty, Julia's mom, made not one, but two quilts - one for them and one for her and Steve. I've invited Betty to be my guest blogger today to share, in her words, the story of the gorgeous MOB (Mother-of-the-Bride) quilt which she just finished up a couple of weeks ago.

"When Julia and Ryan announced they were getting married about four years ago, I think I had already started working on a Star quilt that would be their wedding gift - call it a mother’s intuition! Since they set their wedding date for September 2017, it gave me lots of time to complete this heirloom.

With the wedding approaching and the gift complete, I decided to start work on a mother-of-the-bride (MOB) quilt as a memento - one that Steve and I would sleep under for years to come - AND to keep my mind distracted from the myriad details it took to complete that special day!

In keeping with the bridal theme, instead of using new fabrics I chose heirloom linens featuring intricate hand embroidery, crochet and cut work. I worked with antique table runners, hankies, fine garments and doilies, many of them I inherited from my Mom’s collection - all so meticulously laundered and pressed by her.

I worked with a simple set of patterns and borders comprising 2” squares, and quilted along the stitching lines for the most part.

In each of the four corners, I set a collage of larger dollies bordered by a heavy brocade that looked like it may have come from a mini-skirt worn by a chichi '60s bride, perhaps?

The quilt is now trimmed and laundered. When I hung it out on a sunny day recently the piecing puckered so nicely, woven together by hand-quilting and antique lace.

I love the random tones of ivory and white, punctuated by bits of coloured embroidery. Reminds me of our parent’s wedding cake topper that sat preserved in the family cedar chest for decades.

As charming as the quilt front is, it’s on the back where I placed the final touches: a sweet mother-of-the-bride hankie that Julia gave me on her wedding day, anchored by a memory heart that she gave her dad, Steve. Set against a lovely French-inspired floral that was a gift from my sister Marie (QuiltBee), these two mementos provide the perfect signature on an heirloom that marks one of the most special days in the history of our family!"....M