Christmas Quilt 1

So this post is a little late due to some personal issues I was having. But here it is :).  I am doing the Christmas in July Blitz by Monkey Dog Quilts.   I am making a quilt for my Grandmother (on my father's side) for Christmas this year.  Since she has done so much for me over the years I figured it is the least I can do for her.  It will be a signature quilt with a block for each of my cousins, aunts, uncles, father, and sister.  My grandma is very proud of her Scottish heritage and immigrated to America when she was 19.  I have decided to make the Quilt purple and green because those colors remind me of her home.  These are four of the fabrics I have picked out.  I still need to get two more that are green.

Below is a picture of inspiration.  Although my quilt will be somewhat different it will still have the same type blocks.  

I Have drawn this rough sketch to see if it is how I want the quilt but I am not quite sure yet.  I think I really like it, what do you think?

Right after I picked the colors for this quilt a found this quilt being done for an ill mother.  I plan on using my left over fabric to make squares for it.  Maybe you could help too?

History Lesson: Friendship Quilts

Friendship quilting started in the mid-1800s and was a huge fad of the time. These nifty quilts where also called signature quilts and album quilts. Friendship quilts were used to help remember friends and feel connected with them in a time before telephones and internet especially when so many families were up and moving out west and would never see their old friends again. They were also used to raise money or to donate to troops. A group of women would charge per signature per block and then raffle off the quilt or sell it at auction. Blocks would include either names, locations, bible verses, notes or any combination of these either written in ink or embroidered.

I love the idea of a friendship quilt! Once I have more readers I plan to do a friendship quilt group project/quilt along and I have some different ideas for them. Maybe one for followers and we can all make squares to send to each other and we could all make our own friendship quilts? And I totally love the idea of making one for our troops! Sending a quilt to someone fighting overseas would be a wonderful thing to do. I think I am going to make a christmas style friendship quilt for my Grandma's Christmas present with our families signatures and notes.

If anyone has anything they would like to add please leave a comment.  I am always in the mood to learn more! :).  Also, if you have done a friendship quilt I would love to hear about it.