my [first?] quilt!

when i was in, maybe, 5th grade or so, i pieced a quilt top with some help from my mom (and, if i remember correctly, some talented squinting from my dad when it came to laying the blocks out). i didn’t assemble the quilt myself (top+batting+back+binding) and i don’t think i even did the tying of the quilt, but i did feel a great sense of accomplishment! and … then i never made any more quilts. why not? well, part of it has to do with my short attention span when it comes to crafting and sewing–generally, if i can’t complete a project in a matter of a few hours, then i’m probably not going to finish it.* part of it comes from the fact that most of the quilt patterns i saw looked very classic and old-fashioned and not really my style. they were frequently made with fabrics that were cutesy or too bright or something or were like these elaborate scene quilts which are fascinating, but not really something i would ever want to make myself (or hang in my own home).

then, along came denyse schmidt. i was astounded by her groundbreaking quilt design–simple, but funky–enough of a twist on the classic art form to make them very interesting–and no saccharin fabrics or colors. love, love, loved them. couldn’t afford them. could only drool and imitate her style in my own crafts–but not particularly well. then, last year, she came out with a book that explains exactly how to create many of her quilts, plus fun smaller projects inspired by her quilting style. i was thrilled to receive the book for christmas last year and have spent hours looking through it, trying to figure out what makes her stuff so unerringly cool and figuring out which projects i want to try. i assumed that i’d mostly be interested in the small, quick projects (aprons, cards, scarves, etc.) but a few weeks ago, i picked the book up again and was looking more carefully at the quilt patterns in the last chapter. one pattern in particular stood out, as i read through the instructions, as one that looked pretty quick and easy (as quilts go) and forgiving. the best part? there were no pattern pieces to mess with. the pattern is called “big zig” and looks sort of like charlie brown’s shirt (but in better colors). i quickly became excited about the possibility of making my own version of big zig. i bought fabric (i chose a light blue as the main color and a dark brown and a dark olive for the stripes), pre-washed it, then started cutting out triangles. i had to do a little math** because the pattern was created for a queen size bed and i wanted to just do a throw (fear of committing myself to a too-big project, cheaper to buy less fabric, more likely to get used and not have to get rid of blankets i’m already using and enjoying just fine). the best part about this quilt is that you only have to piece about 4 rows and the rest is large pieces of solid fabric. the hard part about this pattern is not cutting the tips of the triangles off in your seams (which i wasn’t completely successful at avoiding…) i worked on it for a few days and got the top all pieced and the back (two pieces of fabric sewn together with one seam) ready, then the long, arduous process of marking the quilting lines. gah. not my favorite bit. especially when the pens kept drying up. the easiest marking i did was on the brown and olive zigs where i could mark with just a sliver of soap (thanks for the reminder of this tip, heather!). i worked on this part of the project during tv-watching evenings for a few days. then, i “basted” the batting and back to the top (with giant safety pins) and the quilting began! on a machine, of course! there is no way i would have the patience to quilt anything bigger than a doll quilt by hand. possibly not even that. maybe a doll pillow. the quilting took awhile (two short-ish and one long sewing sessions) and i’m not sure that i could have wrangled anything bigger than a throw into my sewing machine, then i added (in a not particularly perfect manner) some store-bought seam binding (i’m very impressed with people who have the patience to make their own) and…. tah-dah! i have a really awesome quilted throw! it’s done! i love it! my kitties love it! (which is why i’m glad i chose not to use solid dark brown as the back) mr. happy stuff thinks the colors don’t really go together (but he’s wrong). here are some pictures of the finished product:

a close-up of the back fabric:

the colors don’t come across quite right, but you get the idea. making this quilt wasn’t all that difficult, really. i’m thinking of making more…. anyone need a quilted throw for christmas? i might get another one done by then….
*the most recent exception to that rule has been needlepoint which i can squeeze into times i’m not normally crafting–like sitting in meetings or riding in the car on long trips. that, plus i love the texture of the resulting product and i’ve found some cool, mod patterns.

**my math when it comes to things like this is not really so great, so it was good that the pattern was a forgiving one. at the end of quilting the piece you “square it up” before putting on binding. i don’t know if people normally cut off as much as i did in order to make it “square” but… it worked out just fine!