Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Swedish Dala Horse and Flag Quilt

 So I wanted to make my mother something special for Christmas as she already has everything she needs.  She is extremely proud of her Swedish heritage, so this is what I came up with for her.  She has a yellow and blue "nice" living room.  I saw the Dala Horse fabric on Ebay and immediately knew the yellow/blue color way would be perfect for her.  I ordered 2 yards at $25/yd (gasp) over Thanksgiving break.  I fully intended to cut it up for quilt blocks for the front until I opened the package.  The repitition in the print made it very difficult to find a way to cut it without cutting through many of the dala horses.  I just couldn't bear to touch it with my rotary cutter after what I paid for it. 
I went to bed that night hoping for clarity and it came to me.  It seems that is when I do my best thinking.  The living room is blue and yellow, the fabric is blue and yellow  .................  the Swedish flag is blue and yellow and now I know what I am going to do.  I new I had to vary the prints and shades in the flags so the pattern stood out.  If I only used only one blue and one yellow it wouldn't look like flags.  It would show up as big blue rectangles with yellow borders.
I love how it turned out.  I know the real Swedish flag is medium blue and medium yellow, but I love the variety in color and pattern.  The Dala Horse fabric intended for blocks on the front made an awesome backing.  My mom cried when she opened it.  I have definitely spent more money on presents for her, but never gave her something so touching and from the heart.


I forgot to take measurements before I gave it to her, but each flag s 10x15 and I believe the yellow border was 5 in (maybe only 4 in) before the seam allowance.  I guess that makes it a hair under 55 x 70.  (It really isn't crooked, my son is just holding it that way!

Please comment and let me know what you think!

16 comments:

  1. Love it! My mom is of Swedish heritage too and I know she would adore something like this as well! Great job! :)

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  2. using the fabric for the back was a smart choice. I almost always make my mom her gifts now because she never seemed to like the store bought choices.

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  3. What an amazing quilt! And that horse fabric is beautiful too! I bet your mother loves it!!

    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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  4. Gifts lovingly handmade are always special. The quilt is beautiful.

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  5. What a lovely idea to make it with such meaning for your Mum, well done on a great finish. Linking up from P&J Monday Link Up. Ange : )

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  6. What a great idea - it's gorgeous!

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  7. Beautiful quilt, your are very talented. I saw your link on Serendipity and Spice. I would love for you to come by and share your creativity with my friends @
    http://www.flusterbuster.com/search/label/Fluster%20Muster%20Party

    Robin@ Fluster Buster
    Fluster Muster Linky Party - Wednesdays

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  8. Hi, I’m Anne from Life on the Funny Farm (http://annesfunnyfarm.blogspot.com), and I’m visiting from DIY Dreamer.

    This is so pretty! I wish I could quilt. I really hope to learn someday. I can't think of a better gift.

    Anyway, thanks for posting this. If you’ve never visited yet, I hope you can pop by my blog sometime to say hi…

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  9. What a beautiful and thoughtful gift. I'm sure your mother will cherish it. Thanks for sharing at the Open House party. xx, Sherry

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  10. I am a quilt lover!!I love it!!!! Please share at my linky party going on now at http://wallisfarmsdailywalk.blogspot.com/2013/01/linky-party-2.html Thanks!

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  11. Being Swedish but now living in California I love to have things Swedish around as well. I bet your mom loved it!

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  12. I adore flag quilts and this is so beautiful! The fabric on the back is adorable. My sister brought one of those horses back for me when she visited Sweden. Thanks for linking up with Sew Cute Tuesday:)

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  13. That's a gorgeous quilt!! Thanks for linking up to the weekly creative :)

    Shannon @ Sewing Barefoot

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  14. Absolutely beautiful! What a perfect gift :) I hope my daughter will make one like it and surprise me one day... Greetings from Australia♥ ~Pernilla

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