Quilt for Naomi for her 100th Birthday!

This past week has been crazy!! I was asked to make a quilt for a dear friend's 100th birthday. It all started by saying that I knew how to put photos on fabric!! That got me saying "Yes" I can make the quilt, too!!!

For Naomi, "No" just isn't in my vocabulary! She has been a dear friend (like a grandmother) to me for almost 15 years now. How could I possibly say No? The quilt would be from the Mesa Q-Bee's, the quilting group at our church, the Mesa Church of Christ of which I've been a member since it was started. Naomi has been a member for many years. With a backing fabric to start, I went through our church stash for fabric for the top - I had decided to do a scrappy Log Cabin quilt with the photos as the center of each block.

Top completed. Auditioning fabrics for borders and binding.

I got the photos about 10 days ago. After going to a friend's to scan the photos, I  worked on editing them, cleaning them up, and getting them ready for printing. Running to JoAnn's on Thursday (Aug 28) for more printer fabric (since I didn't have enough) I finished printing the photos on Saturday. I spent the weekend designing the quilt in EQ7 (Electric Quilt version 7) - a program for designing quilts.  This helped me decided on the photo placement, the block size, and the colors for the quilt top. Sunday I ironed and cut fabric (at least most of the fabric). Monday and Tuesday, I sewed most of the 12" Log Cabin blocks. I occasionally cut more fabric as I didn't have the color I needed or enough variety to keep the quilt very scrappy.  I finished the blocks on Wednesday, sewed them together, and added a flange and a border. Thursday (Sept 4 now - 2 more days to go!), TR helped me spray-baste the quilt and I started quilting it at church during our quilting group. Naomi didn't even notice what I was working on! LOL! Everyone else thought the quilt was beautiful! I finished quilting it that evening. I stitched a square feather wreath in each block around the photo. I also quilted a feather motif in the border. Friday, I sewed the binding completely by machine and created a label on the computer and attached it to the quilt! Whew!! It was finished with hours to spare!! I finished it on Naomi's 100th birthday! I couldn't have planned that!! I even was able to go to bed at 10:30 pm (most nights this past week, I didn't go to bed to 1 am or so!).

The Mesa Q-Bee's celebrating Naomi's 100th Birthday. Log Cabin quilt  42" x 54".

The back of the quilt showing a feather wreath around each block.
The border also has a feather motif.

Close up of label containing a photo of Naomi counting the number of quilts we were donating that day to New Leaf, a local charity that passes the quilts to the people in their battered women shelters, boy's home, and homeless shelters. The label says "The Mesa Q-Bee's in celebration of the 100th birthday of Naomi, September 5, 1914 -2014.  The past and present members of the Mesa Q-Bee's at Mesa Church of Christ with a list of 37 names. Designed, pieced, and quilted by Lynnita Knoch, Chandler AZ, September 5, 2014."   

Giving the quilt to Naomi at her 100th birthday party celebration! The current members of the Mesa Q-Bee's are standing around Naomi. She is very surprised and shocked. She got tears in her eyes when she realized that the center of the blocks were photos from various Q-Bee events.

Naomi is examining the label of the quilt. She laughed at it being a picture of her counting quilts. 

Naomi taking a closer look at the photos, recalling the various events. 

It was a special day for a very special lady!! I'm glad to have had the privilege to make this quilt for her. She deserves it! I wish I had known how to quilt while my grandmother was alive. I would've loved to make quilts with her, like I have with Naomi and I would've loved to have made a special quilt for my own grandmother, like I have for Naomi.

Enjoy the quilt, Naomi!! It was created with much love!!