I have 3 brothers and no sisters. Growing up that was a great set up. I'm the oldest and set all the rules. I was pretty sure the whole house would have fallen apart without my leadership. Yes, I was THAT kid. But after becoming an adult I realized that a sister might have been a good thing. Instead I have 3 sisters-in-law that I love. Last year I set out to make each of them a quilt. I made Penguins on Ice for Carol and Corona Cats for JJ. She was also supposed to get Where In The World Is My Cat, but we know what happened to that. Turns out it's the most appropriately named quilt EVER! With those 2 quilts done I still had one more to make for Karen. Karen is a decorator. Everything in her house looks perfect (completely unlike my house where everything is cluttered with one project or another). I wanted to make a quilt that she would want so I asked for her input. She loves animal prints so that sent me on a mission to fine animal prints there weren't juvenile or just plain tacky. Fortunately those geniuses from Lunn Studios had just designed the Serengeti Artisan batiks for Kaufman and they were absolutely perfect for Karen's quilt. I bought too much of all of them so there are some charity quilts coming soon. I wanted to focus on the fabrics and eventually settled on the same pattern that I used a few years ago to feature some vintage Indonesian Batik fabrics. This was made easy by using Jamie Wallen's nested triangle design rulers. It's a really simple quilt design wise, but I think it's really effective. I could have moved a couple of the triangles around but it looked good when it was laid out on a design bed and that's what I sewed together. I suggested Minky for the back and she agreed. I had to get the extra wide "Cuddle" version and I found it at Big Sky Quilts. I got very fast shipping from this veteran owned business. The pantograph is called Ebb and Flow. I've never used it before because to get the water effect that it's meant to be you have to load the quilt on the short side. But for this quilt it's a perfect motif to run the length of the quilt. I never want Minky to be quilted too close together. I know some people are afraid to quilt with this fabric but it really is so easy. I've never had a problem with it. The Cuddle version is even more stable than the "regular" Minky so start with that if you are unsure. I used Superior Magnifico on the front and So Fine on the back. I dithered over the label for a while. First, I didn't want to hand stitch a label on that thick backing fabric and second, I know this will be a display quilt so I didn't want the label to stand out. I settled on hiding the relevant details in one of the zebra print blocks. I'm sure I'll never be able to find this again and that's A-OK with me. This quilt reminds me of a very valuable lesson that all of us makers need to always remember. We must keep out recipients in mind. I've heard so may sad stories of quilters gifting quilts that they feel that the recipients didn't appreciate properly. It's not the recipients responsibility to love a quilt that you made in a design and color that you love. It's our responsibility to make quilts that we know will feed the soul of the recipient. I would have never purchased these fabrics for myself, they do not speak to me. But when I see them in this simple, yet elegant, design, I see Karen and I think she will love the quilt.
I'm now out of sisters-in-law so I think it's on to a lot of charity sewing for the rest of the year. 4/28/2021 10:40:21 am
I bet they all love their quilts - I like how you put the "label" in the zebra prints 4/28/2021 01:31:11 pm
I love animal skin prints and I'm glad a line of fabric came out just in time for you. There weren't many available otherwise. The quilt is beautiful!
Vicki in MN
4/29/2021 07:40:41 am
Lucky SIL to receive such a beauty! I am a giraffe lover and have a quilt I want to make for next month, it starts with a giraffe panel. I too have three brothers and no sisters but they are all older than me.
Gene Black
4/29/2021 08:31:16 am
I had on sister and one brother. My sister died in a medical accident many years ago. So I have made a quilt for my brother for one birthday - it totally reflected him. I made another for both him and his wife to go in a specific spot in their home.
Marsha
4/29/2021 08:39:43 am
I just finished a quilt for a great nephew’s graduation. When my sister told me his favorite colors were purple and red, I kinda panicked. I didn’t know how or what I was going to sew. A large pattern stash comes in handy at times. I finished it last week. It’s a large star in the middle with smaller 4 point stars around it done in grunge fabric. It’s cool and even I like it.
patty
4/29/2021 09:31:52 am
The quilt turned out great. I am not a lover of animal prints, but you did a wonderful job making this quilt more sophisticated. I have five SILs and one BIL.
Becky Turner
4/29/2021 09:53:09 am
Nosey here and as I remember it the Cat quilt went walkabout right?
Alycia Quilts
4/29/2021 10:11:53 am
GORGEOUS!! I just finished quilting a client quilt in that pattern with complete different fabrics - and the fabrics you used - they are so perfect!!!! It gives the quilt a whole nother look!!! She will love it!! Comments are closed.
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I'm Vicki Welsh and I've been making things as long as I can remember. I used to be a garment maker but transitioned to quilts about 20 years ago. Currently I'm into fabric dyeing, quilting, Zentangle, fabric postcards, fused glass and mosaic. I document my adventures here. Categories
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