My parents met when they were 12, and they’ve been emotionally tethered to one another ever since. It was only as an adult that I was able to appreciate the ease with which they’ve navigated their relationship. So much of building a life with another person feels like a delicate dance – it’s all about balance and compromise. Over the last few years, I’ve watched so many of my friends navigate this balance – some with ease, some with strife. It’s hard enough to push your own life forward in this complex world – balancing career, life, family, friendships. When you add a whole second set of priorities into the mix, that balance becomes a difficult art. Watching the ease with which my parents have navigated so many years together, they have set a high bar for what it means to be married for both me and my little brother.
My brother met Emma at summer camp 11 years ago, and they’ve been together ever since. Watching them grow together has been amazing. Their relationship has sustained over so many phases of life – from all the emotions of teenage-hood, to 2,741 miles of long distance, to finding careers and building a series of homes on two coasts. I’ll often step back and watch them navigate the world. Each of their interactions is built around gently supporting each other. Their relationship is kind and unbreakable. They protect and strengthen one another. More than any other couple I know, they take on the world as one. They have mastered the balance.
Even though Paul already has a pile of quilts, I wanted to make them a quilt to mark their wedding. This quilt is inspired by this Regatta quilt by Block M Quilts and is meant to represent the balance they’ve created over so many years together, and the journey to come.
The desire of your eyes
That you might glimpse
The infinity that hides
In the simple sights
That seem worn
To your usual eyes.”
– John O’Donohue, For the Senses
The colors in this quilt are inspired by Emma’s calm aesthetic, with one pop of color the correspond to their wedding colors of pink and blue. I had fun picking out so many grey patterns and translating them into a plan from light to dark:
Each grey stripe was then cut into the appropriate length, with a point at the end. Those pieces were pieced together with a small white square in between:
And then pieced together again with small white sashing, to create a dancing zag of white across the length of the quilt:
Fun side project note: Paul and Emma were extremely organized planning their big day, and hesitated to put work on any of us. So I weaseled my way in and suggested a project. They finally relented. So I made 200 napkins for their beautiful wedding tables by selecting fun fabrics, cutting and hemming:
We found these fun arrows on Etsy and stamped them with their initials to add some fun flair to each napkin:
Congratulations you two – thanks for being such a great example for all of us as we navigate this marriage thing!
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