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MY
Quilt (Split Rail Fence)
size 52"x68" • cotton top with
polar fleece backing
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12.14.04
I just finished my mom's quilt. Last
night, when it was pinned and I was heading to bed, I thought,
"It's time for my own damn quilt!" I got
out my black binder full of b/w copies from crafty library
books. Flipped to the quilting section. Split Rail Fence,
caught my eye. Darn it, I don't have the title of the book
it's from, though I'm guessing it's one of those slim "fat
quarter" quilting books. I pulled fabric from my stash
and set them aside for the next day
I
woke up today, finished my mom's quilt, and rolled up my sleeves.
I was curious how long it takes me to make these fleece-backed
lap quilts. I guesttimated 10 hours. I figured I would take
a photograph every hour to see:
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Hour
1: I cut 2 1/2" strips and sewed them in two groups
on 5. 1 grouping was green/yellow/green/yellow/green with less
contrast between them, and the other black/yellow/black/yellow/black
and more contrast. Once those were sewn together, I cut them
into 2 1/2" strips. Then I cut long, long strips of two
stripes (striking black and white) and a second khaki and white
stripe that I dyed olive green. Here's all the strips ready
to be made into blocks:
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Hour
2: The finished blocks:
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Hour
3: Those blocks sewn together into rows. Obviously the first
set of strips weren't nearly enough for a top made 5 blocks
wide, 7 blocks high. Gotta cut a lot more strips...
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Hour
4: More strips cut and sewn and waiting to be ironed:
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Hour
5: Sewing together the blocks. My set up is simple. My basic
Brother sewing maching on the left of my table, 18"x24"
cutting mat to the right. To the right of the table, the ironing
board set up.
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Hour
6: All of the blocks done and sewn into rows. *whew* Enough
blocks!
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7: Nearly done, pinning together the rows before sewing them.
I eschew pinning as much as I can. Anytime you want nice corners
matching up, pinning is mandatory. |
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8: The top is done! With a big border of the lemon fabric.
It's laying on top of what will be the backing fleece. A piece
of crazygreat panda polar fleece I bought a coupe years ago. I
never used it as a blanket, b/c it was heavy enough (I'm a heavy
blanket kinda gal): |
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9: The finished quilt! Quilting was basic, around the edges,
and "stitch in the ditch" between the blocks: |
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Ta
da! Boy, am I tired. My back hurts and my hands are sore.
But I am delighted with it. It turned out twice as good as I
pictured it in my head. Really really pleased with the bright
colors and the stripes. Looks super in person.
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The
superfanstic thing is that this quilt accomplised many goals:
1. A quilt for myself
2. A quilt using that panda fleece I already had
3. Using that super lemon fabric I got from Ikea
a couple years ago.
4. Something stripey.
5. Used several of my absolute favorite fabrics.
6. I only brought one fabric for it, the second stripe, that
I dyed. Always a coup to use so much of what's in the Brandysphere.
7. Did I mention that this quilt was for ME?
So,
in one quilt, I shortened my quilting wish list considerably!
12.25.04
It's been very cold here in Chicago. I've had my quilt around
me constantly. I actually miss it when I'm away from home.
New benefit of polar fleece backing: You can regulate the
warmth well - the cotton side to your skin for a cool blanket,
the fleece to your skin to be taosty warm.
I
la-la-love it!!
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