Aidin's Storm Home Quilt Top is Complete

Storm Home Quilt Top for Aidin

The pattern is Sonya's Windows, using multiple 2-1/2-inch strips from Keepsake Quilting in blues, purples and gray.  There might also have been some fat quarter bundles, too--just to get a variety of values and patterns amid the chosen color families.

The final finished top actually has 1 less row in it.  I removed the bottom row, as it was getting to be too big for a twin-size quilt.  I wasn't counting the borders in the final size until I realized it was too big.  Still looks nice, though!

 

Here is is on the Design Wall, auditioning block placement and sashing ideas. 

Aidin picked the colors he wanted (blues, purples, and silver with turquoise), and let me choose the pattern.  That's how it should be ...  that way, as a quilter, you don't get bogged down with an impossibly difficult and complicated pattern chosen by someone who has no idea of the difficulty level.  (I suspect that is why there are so many Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilts left unfinished in attics.)

Aidin has been like a 2nd son to me, mini-me.  He and Oliver (my kid) have been friends since they were very small -- Their whole lives.  They are like brothers.  Oliver is a very logical, smart kid--straight and narrow; while Aidin is also smart and creative, a true appreciator of the Arts--that's where the mini-me part comes in.  They are so different, and perfect compliments for each other.   Our house has been a "Storm Home *" for Aidin, meaning when things were stormy at his house and he wanted peace and quiet and a "normal" family, he could always come here for a respite.   We are literally over-joyed when we get to spend time with Aidin.  "When's Aidin coming over?" is probably the most often used question/sentence in our house.

Soon, Aidin will be moving away to start a new life in a new town.  This quilt will help him remember that he is loved unconditionally by his Storm Family.   We are here anytime you need us, Aidin.

Now to figure out how to quilt it ...

*  Garrison Keillor has an old Lake Wobegone Story about The Storm Child and Storm Homes.  In Minnesota back in the day, if there was a big winter storm, the the country kids were assigned a storm home in town close to school where they could stay and wait out the storm.  It was never actually put into practice, but just knowing he had a place to go where he'd be welcome made him feel good as a kid.