As much as I love the process of making a quilt. Gifting it in person is really the best thing ever. My friend Dan just bought a 112 year old Craftsman house. And now he is learning about what he has. Needless to say, the moment I set foot in the house I knew what quilt I had to make. First of all a new home deserves a quilt, second of all, I knew it had to be Weeping Willow.
I keep most gift bags I receive. I don’t remember what came in this, but it is the absolutely perfect for gifting this quilt.
Dan receiving this quilt. Can you tell that he loves it already?? Yeah, this is why I give special people a quilt. You know that a big part of me goes into every handmade item I make. And a quilt, with the hours of work and effort, it has a lot of me, not just the fabric and thread.
Immediately he sat down on his reading chair with the quilt. And yes, got to take the glasses off. Which is a little ironic, since the quilt is on a reading chair.
This is the chair under the window. The quilt basically looks great anywhere in this house.
Ok, I get it, the radiant smile is more apparent without glasses. Dan has a roommate, who is quite taken with the quilt, but he only gets to enjoy it from afar. The quilt is now part of the evening ritual of sitting and reading. Yes, it has made the experience much cozier. This is exactly why we crafters love giving out the labor of our hands, we know that a handmade gift has something in it that can’t be found in a store-bought item.
And now, to point out some of the incredible details of this house. Notice the brown tile above the built-in bookshelf. I’m sure this is original to the house. Yes, I love these kind of details.
Here is a broader image of the house. Yes, I know purist would immediately say, strip off that white paint and get back to the original wood. I would say, and I know Dan agrees, the white makes the space so much brighter, and you know what. A bright home matters. The details in the woodwork, in the picture rail in the dining room beyond, the ceiling details. LOVE IT! Now I am very happy in my 1950 home, I am actually working with a designer for the first time in my life to redo some rooms. But the fact that I can visit this beauty, makes me very happy indeed.
The reason why I chose the green backing is because of the tile around the fireplace. Now, I have to be honest, it really really bugs me. I am sure this is expensive marble tile, but there is too much, and it doesn’t work in a Craftsman house. But, not my house, the house is old, it has had many owners, and someone did this. It is not the worst thing they could have done. Dan likes it. Heck, I played off it for the back of the quilt. It’s all good
I didn’t take pictures of the front porch, which is amazing, or the backyard, which is also amazing. A previous owner turned the backyard into and incredible, edible space. He planted some exotic citrus trees, one of them is a Kafir lime. A tree priced in Thailand and in Thai cuisine. Not so much for the fruit, but for the leaves.
The fruit is gnarly looking. The leaves are interesting, double leaves. I brought some home and made some Thai Curry. Was it the red paste? Or did the leaves actually make a difference in the curry? I’m going with, the leaves made a difference. Btw, it’s like bay leaves, you cook with them, but don’t eat them.
Yes, dinner was yummy.
Leah