The BFQ - The Big Friendly Quilt inspired by the BFG

Since becoming a quilter, I have become a person who notices quilts in tv shows and movies and advertisements.  I find myself rewinding to get a better look at the double wedding ring, or to work out if it's a hst quilt, or if it's stars, and my heart stops when I see lone star quilts or dresdens on screen... And in movies it seems as if every quilt is scrappy and antique-y feeling, and of course it's because they're there to make a place feel lived in and cozy and warm, and scrappy does that so well. And even though that's not really my style, it makes me happy and slightly envious of these quilts and their lived in comfy glory.

After recognising my eagle eye while binge watching recently I had to confess it to some of my quilty friends and turns out: they do the same too.  Which leads me to state that I now feel confident that I wasn't the only quilter who watched the BFG and spent half the movie trying to get a better peak at Sophie's quilt.  The idea of this lonely, misfit orphan who had her special quilt, which she dragged around the orphanage (and on to a great adventure) really struck a nerve with me.  I wanted every Sophie in the world to have their own quilt.  But I also wanted Sophie's quilt.

It's vintage and loved and clearly brings her comfort. and I just loved it.  All that to say, when I was recently watching the BFG, the longing to have a Sophie Quilt overcame me and before I knew it, I had done a deep (deep, deep, deep) dive into my stash and started pulling fabrics that I felt had that vintage vibe going, with the intention to make my own BFG quilt.

And that is where to story really starts,  You see, unfortunately, it's actually really hard to see Sophie's quilt in the movie.  There doesn't ever seem to be a shot of the whole front, nor a shot in proper full light, so you have to puzzle it together.

Clearly it's a medallion, and there are lots of triangles (or are they flying geese??), and the colour scheme is red, pink and like a minty teal. It's got lots of florals going on. Very vintage.  Screams - I'm a donation, and yet also makes you want to snuggle up in it.  I've gone off track...

I did some googling to see if maybe the movie had released the pattern as part of their promo... no.  They should have, it would have been great marketing.  Oh well... Have any other quilters tried to make it? Yes!!! 2!!! Piccolo Studios did an "inspired by" version (found here), and Catrina Manel did a version, and made a pattern on her blog I'd rather sew. Catrina's version was close to what I wanted but I felt like the ratio's were a little off for what I envisaged.  I decided to wing it!! I'm a rebel, what can I say.

I grabbed all the florals and weird greens and stuff that has been lurking in my stash for a thousand years: things that I bought before I knew quite what kind of quilter I wanted to be.  Things that I hadn't found, and was unlikely to ever find, a home for in my normal day to day quilting.

And I cut it!!  Just sliced right in.  I made hsts, willy-nilly, knowing that they'd be needed, but not quite sure how many or what their actual purpose would be. I barely even measured! Of course I did measure, because I wanted them all to be the same size, but the point is - I refused to contemplate quilt maths. I just dove in.  HST's out the wazoo!

And while my quilt is not an exact match to the one in the movie, it is close enough for me. It retains the vibe.  And while it's absolutely not my style in any way shape or form, I kind of love it.  It's quilting in big messy loop de loops which are... variable in size shape and execution. But they will bring a lovely softness as it gets washed and used.

I have no idea what I'm going to do with it.. perhaps just hold onto it until a little orphan calls its name.  As one of my guild mates said: it's just a friendly quilt. And that is how it got it's name: The Big Friendly Quilt, or the BFQ for short.

It was a fun quick make and I am really happy with the outcome and that I have a new full size quilt to add to my cupboard.

E xx