Hi All! I'm in need of some help! I want to make a Guestbook Quilt for my sister's wedding and I have LOTS of questions for all you experienced quilters out there!
1.) Has anyone made one before? I saw one at a wedding I went to a few years ago and loved it!
2.) Would it be better to make the quilt ahead of time and have people sign it? Or should I just have guests sign the blocks and put the quilt together after the wedding? If I put it together before the wedding, should I quilt it then too or just baste it an quilt around the signatures?
3.) I want to use her wedding colors for the quilt and I'm wondering what patter would be best. Her colors are black, white, and gray. Her fiance is color blind and she wants him to be able to see the wedding exactly as everyone else does. What pattern would make the quilt interesting and beautiful, while still giving plenty of room for guests to sign?
4.) I've never tried photo-transfer onto blocks, but would that be something to add? I thought black and white pictures would be a nice addition. Thoughts?
I'm sure I have more questions, but those are what comes immediately to mind. I do have some time to get everything together. She's been engaged about a month and her wedding isn't until August 2012, but I want to get started, knowing this is not only a big project, but has to be perfect!
Any and all help is most welcome! Thanks!!!!
daisydecorator: My main question now is if anyone has put the quilt together before the event, making the signatures the final touch on the quilt? I have so much time before the wedding that it seems I could do it this way. Or is it just best to have the squares at the wedding and put the quilt together afterward?
My main question now is if anyone has put the quilt together before the event, making the signatures the final touch on the quilt? I have so much time before the wedding that it seems I could do it this way. Or is it just best to have the squares at the wedding and put the quilt together afterward?
I think there are several reasons to make the quilt after the wedding.
I would definitely have someone at the table where the quilt blocks are to monitor what people are doing. Also, I had some try to take the blocks with them thinking they would give them back later. You want to make sure your blocks don't walk away. I had a brief list of instructions written on a sheet of paper attached to the table to remind them to use only the pens on the table and to leave the border around the edge for seam allowance.
Good luck. I'm sure your quilt will be a wonderful momento of the wedding that will be treasured.
I saw one quilt in one of my books. It was a nine patch and rails in whites and black prints. it was gorgeous and the rails could be used for signatures as it was in the book. You could make the quilt and use permanent fine point pens for signatures.
I love this idea of a quilted guest book. You'd need to determine how many signatures per square and what size the assembled book would be.
Luckily you have time to put some thought into this project. It might be nice to have the book all completed and assembled. With all that love put into the project, wouldn't you want it on display?
Perhaps the signature pages could be varying strips of white on white bordered by the wedding colors.
One idea would be to do the cover in the wedding ring pattern. Inside, besides the signature pages, could be pages with engagement photos, blank pages where wedding photos, printed on fabric, could be appilqued on after-the-fact. Perhaps some baby photos of both bride and groom? Photos of generations of family? There are lots of options.
This really excites me. I would never of thought of doing something like this. Hopefully my granddaughter gives me plenty of warning before getting married so I can make one for her.
OK, I just thought of one small drawback. People are filing in, stopping to sign the guest book. They are going to want to linger and look through the book. It would take hours for everyone to sign! Maybe you could have the signature pages, or just fabric pieces, for the sign-in and have the semi completed book on display during the reception?
In the beautiful Pacific Northwest!
I thought a nine patch might work, and the squares could even be used for signatures if they were big enough, along with the rails. Thanks!!
Judy,
I hadn't thought of making an actually quilted book! I was thinking of just making a queen or king sized quilt and laying it across a table for everyone to sign on their way into the reception. Maybe I could make both! What a great idea for the photo transfer! I'm glad you like the idea! Thanks so much!
Daisy--
For my DD's wedding, here's what we did:
1. Cut squares of fabric and ironed freezer paper onto the back to stabilize it.
2. Mailed the squares to wedding guests with guidelines for writing/designing on the squares. Be sure to stress using permanent ink and maybe even include a practice fabric strip for testing colorfastness. Also mark boundary lines on the square so that the writing or design doesn't extend into the seam allowance. Give a deadline for return of the finished squares. Hopefully all the recipients will return the squares on time, but if not you can put together what you get and decide how to handle latecomers (maybe add them on the back after the wedding)
3. Once all the squares were returned, I arranged them along with several photo squares I had made and assembled the quilt. Since the wedding was a Jewish ceremony, we used the quilt as the huppah, then had it on display at the reception.
Hope this helps you and ask away if you have any other questions.
Kissimmee, FL
For my parent's 50th Anniversary, I created blocks of white fabric with a triangle in two opposite corners (a snowball block with only two corners "snowballed") There was plenty of room for messages. I ironed freezer paper on the back and had a table set up with the correct type of permanent fabric pens in multiple colors. After the anniversary event, I then designed a quilt around these blocks. I had a center area with pictures from the anniversary and the blocks from their children (me and my siblings) in the center. They loved it. There may be a picture of it in my gallery. If not, I can get one there.
I found some pictures of the quilt I made for my parents several years ago.
I used the corners I cut from the blocks to make the HST in the border.
Jeanine
Your quilt is absolutely wonderful. I really like the pattern you used and how you incorporated the photos. What a very special quilt.
Great quilt. An awesome keepsake.
Vinton, Virginia
Absolutely beautiful, How do you use something like that?
Jeanine, very nice. Your parents seem very pleased with it.
Millbury, MA
Jeanine,
You're quilt is beautiful! That's just what I was thinking to make!
Thanks for all the great tips, everyone! SO helpful!
i think it will be harder to get a crisp signature on a finished quilt, but you might be able to use a larger tip on the pen. experiment with what works best gini
gini in north idaho
I would be afraid to let anyone near a completed quilt with a permanent marker! It is easier to sign fabric if it is backed with freezer paper (you can also draw lines on the paper for a guide). You could have completed blocks ready the day of the wedding for people to sign (with freezer paper on the back) or is it possible to mail out the fabric, including the marking pen? If you were mailing them out, I would buy, say, 10 pens and then send the mailings-10 the first time and then as 1 came back, use the returned pen and send it to someone else. No matter how you do it, please be sure the directions are clear and no one whips out their own pen and signs (did a signature quilt for a church function and that was something we had to watch out for!)
Pat