So, I thought my dad was 70 this year. I did the math wrong, and have since realized that he's actually 70 next year. But that's okay, becuase that means this quilt will be 10 1/2 months early instead of 2 months late. And I wanted to make him a quilt anyway becuase he's often in and out of hospital, and while some of my other siblings can rush to his side in an emergency, I have small children and no money. So I thought at least he could bring something of me with him so he would know I was thinking of him.
The result was this quilt. It started out with a fat quarter club I joined (that didn't work out, but that is another post all together), which resulted in me having 12 fat quarters of "Aunt Purdy's Parlour", a collection I would never choose to buy -- all burgandy, navy and deep forest greens. I did realize that these are all colour my dad really loves, however, so I started collecting a few homespuns to go with them. When I had about 20 or so fat quarters I was planning to do a turning 20 type quilt with lots of big blocks.
For christmas I bought myself the "Last Minute Patchwork and Quilting Gifts" book, and I loved so many of the quilts in it (damn Martha Steward inspired photography) that I had to try some of the techniques highlighted. I thought of making a coin quilt (basically several smaller rows of coloured strips with smaller solid strips between them) but it was now the middle of December, and my dad's birthday is Dec. 31. So I opted for the big strips of homespun and the two strips of bright quilters cotton and homespun.
This quilt was really fun tomake. It was my fist time using free hand rotary cutting, which is really fun and relaxing (frankly all my rotary cutting ends up being a tiny bit freehand becuase I suck at holding a ruler straight, so it was a bit of a releif) and my first time tying a quilt. I tied it partially because its quicker, and partially because then I could do that part in Winnipeg. It was also my first time using cotton batting, which I love. It has such a nicer weight than the cheap polyester yuk I've used so far, and I can tell that it will not disappear nearly as quickly. I was initially going to bind it in the neutral plaid, but I think that would have been too dull.
Anyway, this was a pretty fast quilt for something measuring 50" x 56", and I'm sure my dad will love it.
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3 comments:
Hi Jill,
I followed the link from your comment (thank you for that!) on my blog to get to yours. I have always wanted to quilt, or sew at all really, but I never had the patience for it. I think that is a fabulous gift for your dad and I appreciate your positive outlook on that gift being 10 months early instead of 2 months late! Being not very detail oriented, it would be beneficial for me to adopt more of a "better late (or early) than never" attitude myself.
I look forward to reading more of your posts.
Molly
hey Jill,
looks like an awesome present! I think he'll like it.
Thanks, Sam.
Molly, I've been reading and enjoying your blog for a few months now and I really appreciate your perspective. Mine is a bit more frivolous than yours, but I hope you like it anyway.
Jill
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