Modern Double Cross {a finished quilt}

This is the year of finishing things.  According to my blog history this quilt was imagined and started in February 2014 in the form of a tutorial for both 12 and 6 inch blocks for my turn as queen bee of We Bee Learning.  My cousin was graduating from High School that spring and I needed a quilt.

The blocks quickly came pouring in from across the country and, with the addition of a few more on my end, were ready to be pieced into a top by May.  Since the colors were so saturated I really felt like they needed breathing room, plus my cousins on this size are very tall and I didn't want to make 1000 blocks, so I played with some alternative layouts,

Once I had decided I bought the background fabric, going with a basic extra-wide blue and started to work out the piecing.  This was my first adventure into using an alternative layout so it was definitely challenging for me.  I eventually ran out of background fabric, purchased some more, and then it sat.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe I was overwhelmed with the though of trying to piece the whole thing together?  Maybe it was because it's simply larger than any of the rooms in my house so I didn't have a place to lay it out and work on?  Finally when I went on retreat this fall I brought it with me, hoping that would give me the kick I needed to get it finished.

Well I was right.  I found a big room, figured out how I had intended to put it together, and got to work FINALLY sewing the top together.  I had some much needed help squaring it up and learned some great techniques (the trick is to make the flooring work for you!) and it was ready to ship to the longarmer.  

Katie at Home Hearth Quilting did a fabulous job on it, quilting a fun bubble feather pattern on the blue background and crosses to echo the piecing through the orange and red.  She even added in a special quote for my cousin, who is studying music.

"Do not fear mistakes, there are none." - Miles Davis

Being a teenage male he was tough to read but I think he liked it. :) 

I gifted the quilt at our family Thanksgiving this year and promptly put him and his brother (both of whom are 6ft+, to work holding it for me for pictures.  This quilt finished at 107" x 96" so I really needed their help to get some pictures!

Nearly two years after it had begun, I was really glad to get this one finished.  Another WIP crossed off the list and happily received.  Linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday and Finish it up Friday.

Carpenter's Star {a finished quilt}

This quilt has been a long time in the making.  It began in early 2013 when I found out that my uncle was getting married and was born out of my strong desire to make a carpenters star quilt.  I queried my uncles then soon-to-be wife and we settled on a red and white color scheme.  Without delay I started buying up every red or white fabric I found on the internet, not really thinking about theme or overall composition.  Keep in mind I didn't have a stash yet so to make a scrappy carpenters star I needed fabric.  Since it's hard to tell what color red a fabric is online, the reds in this quilt vary from pink and peach to burgundy and orange.  Because of my buying fervor there are some really interesting fabrics in this quilt.  Some of my favorites include:

• red and white zebras
• balloon dogs
• cutlery
• "How to iron a shirt" fabric
• coloring book animals
• Pi and the angles of a triangle

I cut without a plan too.  I knew I needed to make half-square triangles so I started cutting ALL of the fabrics I had bought into 10" squares.  Then I sewed them into HST using the biggest, widest seam you can imagine.  This was before I knew was a 1/4" seam was.  The large seam resulted in blocks that were roughly 7", give or take an inch....more or less.  I wasn't big on consistent sizing yet either I guess.  Either way, the top came together fine.  

I added three borders to the top to bring the size up to just under queen sized.  One dark solid red, a 1 inch solid white, and then an red plaid to take it from square to rectangular.  I didn't actually get a measurement on it before gifting.  Let just leave it at "large cuddle couch quilt" / "small queen bed quilt" sized.  I used the same red plaid on the back, but again, I wasn't big on measuring so I had to supplement with the excess red blocks I had cut and a pieced heart using scraps from the front.  Personally, I really love the back of this one.  The splashes of extra color make me pretty happy.

Originally I wanted to quilt this myself but the size of it was overwhelming to me.  I made the decision and had it long-arm quilted locally.  This is one of the reasons that the quilt took so long to make.  When I got the quilt back I was really unhappy with the quilting.  It was not what we had discussed when I dropped off my quilt, whole blocks were not quilted and the wrong thread color had been used.  At that point I didn't know what to do so the quilt just sat for literally years needing only a binding.  

Finally I decided that it wasn't worth it to take the quilt back and have it re-quilted.  I certainly didn't want to rip all of those stitches out and frankly, didn't trust the long-armer to do it.  So I sucked it up, cut a binding, and finished it in time to gift at our family Thanksgiving this year.  And I'm glad that  I did.  They loved it, even though it was two years late, and were so excited to get a quilt.  And to be honest, I didn't even notice the quilting when I gifted it and I don't notice is now in the pictures either.  I guess I just needed an expectation adjustment.  After all, Finished IS better than Perfect.

Remember that pile of squares that I cut at the beginning?  Some of them became my Sailor's Take Delight quilt that I finished and gifted this summer.  

Linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday and Finish it up Friday.

In Memory Of, #1 {a finished quilt}

As I have mentioned several times, I was commissioned in November to make two memory quilts by a local woman who lost both of her parents in 2012.  She found my blog through my Local Quilt Guild website and we started discussing:

...I am looking to hire someone to make two quilts for me.  They do not/will not necessarily be identical.  One is for me, one for my brother.  Our parents passed away six months from each other in 2012 and were known for their whimsical personalities and style.  I thought it would be fun to take the mix of fabrics from some of their signature wardrobes and have quilts made....Despite living in Vermont, they met on Cape Cod and lived life to the fullest.  They tended to be rather preppy and at the holidays could be seen in a lot of plaid...

She describes her parents as fun, whimsy, and prone to off-the-cuff style, often showing up in thrift store tux's or plaid pants and skirts.  We agreed on a pattern and I got to work sewing, deciding to start on the quilt for her brother first.  My design was based on Dots & Dashes by Bethany Fuller of Grace's Dowry Quilts (gracesdowryquilts.com).  I did not purchase a pattern.  I ended up using freezer paper as a foundation and sewing alternating strips of background fabric and clothing fabric to create the blocks.  What I ended up with I think accurately reflects both my customer's style and her parent's style.

The block were laid out in a grid formation alternating the direction of each block, horizontal or vertical.  The resulting quilt is both modern and simple but still evokes some of her parents plaid loving spirit.  Fabrics include neck ties, skirts, whale pants, paint stained sweatshirts, knit sweaters, and navy shirts.

The whole thing is quilted in a square grid using matching Aurifil thread in lines spaced about and inch and a half apart.  The quilt is bound using a solid navy color.  It finishes at 53.5 x 62", just smaller than a twin, so it's a good size lap quilt.

For the back of the quilt I used a solid taupe brown and off-set one extra block from the front with squares from her father's wool Navy blanket, a t-shirt with special meaning, and a piece from her parent's hand pieced and hand quilted drunkards path wedding quilt.

I learned a lot about myself and commission quilting during this process and was thankful for the opportunity to stretch myself and my skills.  My customer was wonderful to work with but we often had competing ideas about what would and wouldn't look good for the quilt.  I found that I often lacked motivation to work on the quilt and had to really force myself to push ahead and finish it.  With my own quilts, when I'm not feeling great about them, I can put them down and come back to them when I'm ready.  With this one, I was on a deadline to finish it for a customer and didn't have that luxury.  That was really difficult for me to do.

My customer was very understanding though and recognized that this was my first attempt at making a commissioned quilt.  In the end I think she was really happy with the final quilt also.  I can't wait to hear how her brother likes it.

After this experience I would definitely make another commissioned quilt but I would be more picky about what I would and wouldn't take on.  For instance, I'm not sure I would make another memory quilt like this.  I felt a lot of pressure to not screw it up... after all I can't just run to the store to buy more fabric if I do.  What are your thoughts, have you made a commissioned quilt before or better yet, a commissioned memory quilt?

Once again, Thanks to my Dad for holding the quilt for me to take pictures.  (Thanks Dad! You're the best!)

Linking up with Adrianne at One the Windy Side.

And with:

Kelly at Needle and Thread Thursday