Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Quilts on Cars

Hi!  Thanks for stopping by!

Fun story about this quilt.  I purchased a 12 piece Fat Quarter (Relatively Creative Ariel by Quilting Treasures) bundle from Hancocks of Paducah last spring, 2014.  I found a 13th FQ to coordinate, and cut out the pieces for the Hole in the Wall quilt by Quilt In A Day.  I sewed some of the pieces during the Rodeo last summer, where I was vending.  I took the rest and sewed it during my vacation in Colorado.  The blocks sat for a while during the winter, as I was concentrating on Christmas stuff, but eventually I got the top together, and added a 6" border from coordinating yardage I had purchased.  Then the top sat.  I actually brought it to NY at one point, thinking I could piece a backing and get it basted, but then realized I should have brought the Warm & White batting, as the natural batting would affect the white of the quilt.  So, it sat again.

Finally, knowing I would be doing a craft show to benefit the Children's Miracle Network for Geisinger Hospital, and that parents would be attending, I wanted to get this quilt done.  It's very pretty and would be perfect for a girl's bed.  So, last week, when I went on the road trip with Sue to Ladyfingers and Wooden Bridge, I picked out this sweet green wide backing fabric.  Since the top was about 88" long, and I would need the backing to be at least 90", regular 44" wide fabric would require another piece to make it long enough.  I prefer my seams going across the width of the quilt, so backing that was already at least 100"  made more sense.

 So, I got the quilt sandwiched and began working on the quilting part.  I decided to stick with Aurifil 50wt Mako cotton, in 2024, white, for the blocks, and 2423, a soft pink, for the border.  I used white in the bobbin.  Since the blocks are about 15", I wanted a design that would fill the space well.  I was inspired just before I fell asleep.

When I was little, I doodled constantly.  I'm sure some teachers noticed, but I'm more curious about what they though of my fingers always "tapping".  If the pen was not in my hand, my fingers were practicing guitar picking patterns, lol.  But back to the doodles.  I used to draw roses and flowers.  I used the idea of the rose for the quilting design.



What is fun is that each is similar, but different, just like real flowers.  Also, because the design was in one block at a time, managing the size of the quilt was fairly easy.  My Viking performed very well, and Aurifil is always wonderful to use. I quilted feathers in the outer border, and finished the quilt Saturday night.

Sunday, at the show, there was also a car show.  A man drove in with a pink and white car, and I knew the quilt matched it!  I asked him if I could use his car for the photos, so I could list the quilt in my Etsy shop, and he agreed.  The car is a 1957 Crown Victoria.  He said it's been in his family since it was purchased, new, and for a while he drove it to work.  They refurbished it, and now he shows it.  He was really sweet to allow my quilt to drape his car, but it really was a perfect match.  The car was stunning!



Here's how I did the quilting design.


First, start with a circle in the center of the block.  Then, stitch curves to resemble the center of a bud, with the petals covering each other.  Next, go around the outside, forming the opening and opened petals.  You'll need to backtrack just a bit to make it look like the petals are behind each other. Remember that flowers are not perfect, and some petals have wavy edges and points.  Have fun, get creative, and design your own quilting motif!  This makes a really cute design in each square, and I filled in the corners with what could be the leaves behind the flowers.  You can make most doodles into stitching designs.  This will be used again.  I hope you try it, and share your flowers with me. Thanks for visiting!

Oh, and be on the watch!  The Island Batik Ambassadors are planning some fun!  We're doing a blog hop to share our favorite things, and then another with the preview of the latest Island Batik fabrics!

See you soon!
Maryellen

2 comments:

Sally said...

Another great "quilt story" ME! Super how you share the direction for stitching. And of course I LOVE the car pics!

Pamela said...

Love this quilt! It is perfect on the car - what a great opportunity!