a real life quilt made with love.

okay, so forgive my sappiness.
it's coming.
i already feel the lump in my throat as i type.
for real.

when i designed my book, quilts made with love, of course i envisioned it being used by every day quilters.
of course i wanted it to be the go to book for every occasion.
what i didn't anticipate, was that i would use my own book so soon.
yeah, i knew i'd make a baby quilt sometime soon.
i feel like i'm always making baby quilts, don't y'all?
but what i didn't see coming, was making a quilt from the comfort section.


over the past six months, i've grown really close to my friend, kim.
i stayed with her and her family while i was teaching in october and that just sealed the deal.
instant best friends.

kim's son received orders for deployment.
yep, the "d" word that no mother or military wife ever wants to hear.
i can attest to this firsthand. (marine corp wife, remember?)

kim and i were at quilt market and we were talking about her son leaving soon.
we got all teary eyed and everything.
so much so, that mister blue nickel studios stopped to make sure we were okay.
little did he know, we were planning a deployment quilt for kim's son.
right then and there, all three of us vowed to make this special deployment quilt.
(thanks, scott! you're awesome!)

we started being sneaky on instagram and facebook about our project.
we didn't want kim's son to find out.
(mike, if you are bored and happen to be reading this, go away! your mom is going to kill me!)
because of our vague sneakiness, our mutual friend, amy, texted me to find out what was going on.
i filled her in and then BOOM. we decided to be sneaky too.
we even roped in a third mutual friend, becky.


you see, kim is the type of gal that will give you the shirt off her own back.
she's truly a light.
i heart her. amy hearts her. and becky hearts her.
we went behind kim's back and planned her own deployment quilt.
not only did we coordinate this all from states away underneath kim's nose, but the best surprise was yet to come.


kim, amy & becky all live in virginia.
i live in ohio.
i just couldn't think of kim receiving her quilt and not seeing her face.
so, i snuck to virginia. (a big thank you to the hubby for accompanying me on this adventure!)

after failed attempt after failed attempt of trying to lure kim out of her house, we pulled into the driveway.
i banged on the door. no response.
it's pouring rain, folks.
no kidding.
finally, i called her.

ring, ring ...
kim: hello.
me: hey, what are you doing?
kim: working.
me: oh. from home?
kim: yes.
me: come to your door!
kim; YOU ARE NOT AT MY DOOR!
me: yes, ma'am. i am.

real life convo ...
kim: NO! WHY ARE YOU HERE?
me: cause i love you!
a bunch of hugging.
a bunch of oh my gods.
a bunch of you're in troubles.


kim turned to me and said, "so, really. why are you in virginia? are you teaching?"
and i said, "nope! i'm here to see you! come to the back of my van."
amy, becky, my hubby and babylouwho (amy's cutie) were all in the van.


the girls got out of the van and then we did it.
we gave kim her own deployment quilt.
it was perfect.
so very perfect.


i heart good friends.
especially these three.
they are so very special to me.
oh, and lookie at who else showed up ... mister quilt dad himself.
it was refreshing to see him and the hubby do some longarm quilting!

quilt stats:
size = 66" x 66"
fabric = scrappy awesomeness from three different stashes ;)
piecing = me, amy webb & becky collins
quilting = becky collins
thread = aurifil
pattern = look to the stars from quilts made with love

ps. y'all should see kim's post about this quilt. ;)

xo, rachel