Monday, May 24, 2010

Blogger's Quilt Festival 2010

Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival is always a good place to get your creative juices flowing. She's at it again, so grab your laptop, a cup of tea, and check out all of the amazing quilts. Her list of participants is up to 486. To get started, all you need to do is click on the link on the side bar, and all of the sites are listed. This quilt is for my big, little guy. When he was nine, I made him a cozy, flannel and homespun quilt, something close to 54 X 54. A few months ago he brought the quilt to me and said, "mom, did doesn't fit anymore, I need a bigger one". (He's now 6'2") I figured I just make another cuddly quilt with the flannel, then he also adds, "I don't want one of your 'old lady' quilts, I want bright". I told him about the stack of batiks I had, blues, greens, and purples, you know, nice "guy colors", and he said, "Well add some hot pinks, and yellows too!"

In March, I went on a weekend retreat with my quilty friends to get this thing started. I took my batiks, the black fabric, and with no pattern in mind, I cut 1 1/2" strips, and 2 1/2" strips of all the colors. I started piecing them together randomly until I got a 14 1/2" block. It was easy when I started off with the 2 1/2 square. The combinations just flowed. I thought I could come up with the correct size finished block by starting with the 1 1/2" square, but it couldn't be done unless I added a 3 1/2" strip, so I made the four smaller blocks, and sewed them together to get the 14 1/2". Worked like a charm. I finished the blocks that weekend, but didn't get them sewn together until recently. I let my guy arrange the blocks to his liking, and then sewed them together. I asked him to choose the quilting pattern, and the thread. He wanted lime green, I told him the I had a reputation to uphold, so we compromised. I ended up using a varigated thread that had greens, blues and purples. I used some of the leftover strips to make the binding, and finished it up yesterday. He's a happy guy!! He has another hug from mom.

On a side note, he throws the discus for his track team at school, and took third place at district finals. He'll be going to sectionals later this week.

21 comments:

Lonci said...

I love the color that you used, very impressive:)

Oddbjørg said...

I really liked this quilt!

Allison said...

Oooo...I really like it! And I love that your guy helped!

Angie Padilla said...

Love the free spirit behind this quilt. And love a guy who can appreciate hot pinks!

Angie Padilla said...

Sorry, hit that button to soon without leaving my contact info!

Michelle said...

What a dramatic, stunning quilt. The black with the batiks is so striking. Your son had a good idea about the hot pink and the yellows. It's a wonderful quilt.

Ariane said...

A great quilt for your son. I love it.

stitchinpenny said...

I love the quilt and the fact that he helped in the design. Tell him that people everywhere will wish him luck in the sectionals.

Cynthia said...

Very nice. Squares hold so many possibilities. Great fabric choices and placement. It flows very well.

Tina Rathbone said...

Linda, your guy's quilt is spectacular! Is it flannel, too?

Raewyn said...

Wow, a perfect quilt for a big boy!! The colours you've used are fantastic, and the design is fabulous. I'm sure he'll treasure this forever! Well done. Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog.

mary said...

I love how this quilt looks.

Sipiweske Quilts said...

Making quilts is always fun, but it's extra special and fun when there is a loved one that we're making them for. It's so great how he helped out with choosing some of the bits and pieces - makes it more meaningful for him as well. Congrats on a great quilt.

ilovebabyquilts said...

Great quilt! Love squares and love batiks! Congrats to your son.

Susan Michele said...

This is a really great quilt. Thank you for sharing it with us!

SewCalGal said...

Delightful quilt. Lovely design & colors. You did a great job.

SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

Eileen said...

wonderful quilt--love the brightness of it. like the quilting, the fabrics--all of it

Miri said...

Terrific quilt! Love the yellow popping out!

Deborah said...

I love it! This is a spectacular quilt!

Victoria Findlay Wolfe said...

I love that the big little guy put his two sense into the quilt! ;-) another great HUG !!

debbi d-w said...

Congrats on a great joint project. I love the brights he added - next time try that lime green - go for the stretch!!!