A Quilted Story: Gertrude's Star

This pattern has a special place in my heart for a few reasons. Gertrude's Star was our first full sized quilt pattern, meaning it was the first pattern we released that wasn't just a block or table runner! It's a proper quilt pattern with multiple sizes! It was designed by my sister, Meg. When it came time to name it, all I could think about was my grandmother's stories about her mum.

If you've been around for a while, you might be familiar with the story of Gertrude's Star. The quilt was named for my great grandmother, Emily Gertrude. Emily was abandoned by her mother at an early age and spent much of her childhood in an orphanage in England. I remember one story my grandmother telling me about the May Day celebrations they would have at the orphanage. It sounds like it was just a small glimmer of light in a rather lonely life. Emily, like any orphan, longed for a home. But it was that story of the May Day celebrations that this Gertrude's Star quilt block reminded me of. It felt like a celebration. An explosion of joy. And so we decided to name the quilt Gertrude's Star.

I always wonder what little Emily Gertrude would have thought if she'd seen a sneak peak of her future. She was sent to Canada and placed with a foster family until she finally found a forever family just a few months later. And it's here in Canada that she met my great grandfather and they had a family of their own, including my grandmother. And there you have it, a little snippet of the life of Emily Gertrude.

The fabrics used for this version of Gertrude's Star are all from 2 of Bonnie Christine's collections. There's some fabrics from Her and History and some from Wild Forgotten. You know we're hardcore Bonnie Christine fangirls! I love that both of these collections are about remembering. It seems fitting for a quilt named in honour of my great grandmother.

All of the fabrics used in this quilt are listed below!

From Wild Forgotten:

- Blackberries Thrush Apricot

- Catkin Hazel

- Fern & Fungus Acorn

- Nectar Willow

- Wren

- Crocus Raven

- Catkin Oats (binding fabric)

From Her and History:

- Ray of Sunshine Lila's Pressed Flowers

From Pure Solids:

- Coffee Bean

- White Linen (background)

For the backing fabric, we used Pure Solids Flannel White Linen. The use of flannel as backing makes a quilt extra cozy for our frigid Canadian winters!

Now it's your turn. Head to the Quilting Bee Society facebook group and tell us about a quilt that you made in honour of someone.