Jake's Modern Diamond Quilt + a Snowy Spring Wedding

My cousin Jake and I are the same age, the only cousins out of fourteen of us, and we grew up together. Though we never lived in the same city at the same time, I have fond memories of Christmases and summer vacations and various weeks in between, visits to Annandale, Minnesota, and the twin cities, Atlanta, and various locales in Wisconsin and Michigan. With the groom, and our cousin Amy.

In April, Jake married Stephanie, and we made the trek all the way up to Houghton, Michigan, in the Keweenaw Peninsula, to celebrate and share the day.

We drove all the way up eight hours from Chicago, which was the closest place we could fly for under $200/ticket. Houghton is right here:

There is a small list of people who have received or will receive a wedding quilt from me, but Jake is on that list.

I was inspired by Elizabeth Hartman's diamond quilt at QuiltCon this time around. I wanted to play with large-scale diamonds, set against a solid background, maybe one or two, singular, bold, striped.

I had these graphic, vintage, Native American-inspired button-up shirts that I'd picked up at a thrift store years ago, and kept holding on to, waiting for the right project, one that would utilize and highlight the prints, colors, and motion.

Mixed in with a few other fabrics I've collected, this is what came out.

Lots of straight lines for the quilting. I love the diamond grid that formed where the rows meet.

Two diamonds. Husband and wife?

With the finished binding, hanging over the stairwell inside the Houghton Travelodge.

The fabulous, large-scale backing is part of the Center City collection by Jay McCarroll. Love it.

All folded up.

And might I add, we went to Michigan for an April wedding. A spring wedding. It was certainly beautiful, though looked more like the dead of winter. It is extreme for sure, but it was a beautiful little chilly, snowy, stormy weekend away. Back to the homeland.

A trek on the Main Street in Houghton. Paul and Ben.

Adore any newspaper with Mining in the title.

Snowy afternoon downtown.

With the bride, Stephanie, and my girl cousins, Jeana, Amy, Jenn, and Sara.

And Amanda, too.

Yes, the Travelodge in Houghton tallied up the year's snowfall at 195 inches. As can be corroborated by the amount of snow on the ground in the middle of April.

The only correct word for soda: Pop.

Once the huge snowstorm blew over, our Sunday morning drive out of Houghton was just gorgeous.

Love these old appliances and televisions slung out into the snow, part of the landscape themselves.

Lovely, busy weekend. Filled with love and celebration. Even got to spend some time in the best little thing in the north: indoor swimming pools.