Hip hip hoorah, a finished quilt is hanging in my new home!

My boyfriend’s house is transforming bit by bit into our home instead of his. Like a visual manifestation of our relationship, we are finding the parts of each other that can sing in harmony. Each time we make space for what the other loves and appreciate the beauty in that, the song of us grows.

I have never hung a quilt in my home before. My ex disliked quilts in general and color in particular. I accepted that it was painfully so, until one day when I realized that disliking someone’s art is rather similar to disliking their soul. In my new life post-divorce, I see how important it is that a lover also loves what I make and how I express myself in color and shape. So, in that context, you can imagine how dear it is that my boyfriend asked me to make quilts for our living room and our bedroom walls. And that hanging this first one up really makes that house my home.

There are still missing pieces and things in process, but our new space is starting to feel both cozy and elegant. This week we also hung a chandelier in the living room. I have never had a chandelier before and had no idea that it would arrive in a million pieces. We had to carefully hang and rub clean each and every glass crystal. But of course - how else could it be transported? Haha. Happily we find it beautiful both lit and unlit (unlike our first lamp choice).

Plus, I feel that the faceted shapes of the chandelier connect nicely with the geometric shapes of the wall quilt. That’s a nice bonus.

And the quilt itself? I am pleased indeed. This is my Honeycomb Stars quilt pattern, only made with fewer blocks in order to come out as a good size for our wall. I made the dark value area in the center wider than before, simply by cutting and sewing more dark value pieces, so that the whole work feels a bit darker. The overall value blend works nicely on the Hague Blue (Farrow + Ball color) painted walls. To me the quilt came out interesting, but soft. It adds style and texture and mood without taking over the whole room. I look forward to seeing how it all comes together when the intended furniture, rug and artwork is filling out the space!

The quilt is hanging with a dowel, as per this tutorial from way back when. I am considering adding a dowel along the bottom edge to weight the work and help it hang completely flat. Could be effective? But that can wait for now. For now I am just so thankful to have this hanging and to feel both seen and treasured by my partner.

Hip, hip, hoorah for quilts and the people that love them!