A Wedding Quilt in Australia

With wedding quilts in mind, I discovered one in Australia.  At least it’s one that’s in the making.  How to Make An Australian Wedding Quilt takes us to the Land Down Under, where Megan has asked family and friends to add a square to the wedding quilt as a gift. “I have decided that I rather fancy a wedding quilt,” Megan says in her blog.

This reminds me of the pioneer day wedding and friendship quilts in the United States, when the ladies made a block for the bride-to-be.  Each one contributed a square, sometimes of a pre-decided pattern; other times each contributed a design of her choosing.  Then they might gather for a “quilting bee” and put the quilt together.

Megan also used the quilt as a learning experience for her son whom she home schools.  She talks about this on her blog and in a comment at my previous post, Quilts in the Classroom.  “Although we didn’t set out to involve our son in a quilting project, he has asked to make a square for our wedding quilt.”

         For suggestions, if you’re contemplating a wedding quilt for yourself (and I think Megan’s idea of asking guests to bring a quilt square instead of wedding gift is excellent) or are making one for someone else, here are some ideas.  The Wedding Ring and Double Wedding Ring patterns have long been popular.  Also ideas included in the pattern book from Australian Patchwork & Quilting Magazine may help give your quilt a Down Under flair.