Wrong.It was the next best thing, though. The artist who makes these - Dave Grunewald - is a craftsman living in upstate New York. His website QuiltBoxes is a thing of beauty and if you go looking I recommend you tie a bib around your neck because you will drool over these things. He also has a wonderful Facebook page where you can read the reviews of his admiring fans (including me) and get updates on new designs.
Back to the quilt box - he actually DONATED one of these to be raffled off at the Lowell Quilt Festival that is coming up in just a few short weeks. Talk about a stand-up guy! I loved the feel and the smell (oh the wood!) and precise detail of this piece. Inside is a series of divided spaces to put whatever you like - and every edge is shaped, every joint is perfect. It is a thing of beauty I would display on mantle at home - seriously. Quilters everywhere appreciate the time and patience and devotion it takes to create a quilt. These boxes are an extraordinary complement to quilting and serve an equally beautiful and useful purpose.
The festival committee had a meeting that afternoon and scooped up the box and put it away for safe keeping. Not that they don't trust me. Okay, they don't trust me. (They had to wrestle it away from me.) I'm giving my husband one more chance to gift me with one of these things for our anniversary, and if he fails again I'll just gift myself one. With his credit card. Work with me, people.
What a generous donation! I have coveted one of these boxes too...Christmas is a' comin' tra la! Maybe we should all start that wish list now...
ReplyDeleteGift yourself! I am. I love the boxes but have never actually seen one in person. I could tell from the photos that his work is precise. I e-mailed him about a box and then sent Dave a block pattern from a sampler quilt I designed...nothing fancy, just a variation on the Churn Dash/Hole in the Barn Door block. I asked him if he had ever used purple heart wood as I had seen some in a woodworking store. He said he had some on hand! He has all the details now and the box is on order. I can hardly wait to see what the little box looks like when it's finished. :-)
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