Spinnaker Quilt for my dad

Now that Christmas is over, I can share the Spinnaker Quilt that I made for my dad.

This summer I went to visit my parents and Grandmother in Wisconsin.  While I was there, my dad described a skirt he had seen and asked if I could recreate a quilt like it.  He wanted a quilt made up of rectangles about 2 inches by 8 inches in yellow, red, and green with some white in there to calm it down a bit.  His major descriptor was that he wanted it to be bright and cheerful.  Later, the request was modified somewhat as he said it reminded him of the colorful spinnaker sails at a sailboat regatta.

I had already pulled some nautical fabrics before the spinnaker theme was requested, so I knew I was going in the right direction.  My dad grew up around boats, and had a boat most of his life.  Some of my fondest memories growing up are from sailing down the Columbia River at dusk.

Each of the 238 rectangles in this quilt measure 2.5 inches by 8 inches prior to sewing.

My trimmings turned out quite pretty, at least more so than usual.

The layout is 34 rectangles vertically and 7 rectangles wide.  The top photo is prior to being sewn together - it was a risk to use the design floor with baby and dog around.

The back is pieced - I didn't have enough of the one main fabric, so I pieced in the linen and anchor fabric as a design choice.  Plus, I think pieced backs are kind of fun.

I chose to quilt it with a new panto - rounded rectangles.  I wanted something masculine, yet the rounded edges helped to soften the design.  I think a sharp quilting design would have been too much for this quilt.

I debated about the binding, but after getting some confirmation from instagram friends, I went with the gray binding.  It fit the nautical theme much better.

And now for the stream of finished pictures… The quilt had been finished for several days before I finally had a sunny day to take them!

I had trouble taking pictures of the back thanks to my helpers - my two girls.  First, the dog wanted to see what was going on outside.

After I closed the window, the daughter walked over trying to figure out why she couldn't see outside.

It's a very large throw, which made it a little difficult to get a photo of the entire thing inside my dry house.  I don't risk quilts outside when it is wet.

Lastly, the roll shows the binding color the best.

My dad loved it!  Below is my dad's view of the quilt being shown off Christmas morning.  So much so that he said it was too nice to use and that he wanted to just hang it up.  Luckily, my mom (who crochets, and therefore understands that things are made to be used) told him it was too nice not to use and that he has to use it.  A successful Christmas quilt!

Linking up to: Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story, You Flew Tuesdays at Feather's Flights, Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts, Friday Favs Party at Nap Time Crafters, Anything Goes Mondays at Stitch by Stitch, and while not quite a work in progress (because I couldn't share it during the progress) Work in Progress Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Blogger's Quilt Festival: Daisy Chain Finished!

I am pleased to welcome you to my baby quilt entry for the Blogger's Quilt Festival!

This quilt is another oldie but goody... I started it in Afghanistan in March 2011 or so, and was pieced using my Featherweight (you can see it in the bottom right corner in the photo below).  

This design is "Daisy Chain"from "Jelly Roll Quilts" by Pam & Nicky Lintott.

This is the throw size, sans border.  I think the fabric was Lily and Will - the pink version.  

I longarm quilted it this summer.  You too can have me finish up long overdue WiPs as part of Quilts Actually.

The binding and backing is by now looking familiar if you see my work.  When I started quilting I bought this brown fabric as backing for my first quilt.  I bought way too much and it has been used in two quilt backs, and three bindings so far.  I say so far because there is more fabric left.  Luckily it works with a wide variety of my quilts!  The back is mostly flannel - the pink houndstooth you see below.  

This was once again finished during camper quilting.  My featherweight and I can do great things together while my husband watches the baby.  It is quilted with a light pink thread in a heart panto design.  

The colors are most accurate in this rolled up shot - it is such a sweet baby quilt.  

Linked to: Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2013 and Finish it up Friday!

Pandora's Box is finally finished!

Sometimes my WiPs get out of hand... as in taking years to finish a simple baby quilt.

I began this quilt top in Afghanistan in December of 2010.  It's been awhile!  The design is "Pandora's Box" from "Jelly Roll Quilts" by Pam & Nicky Lintott.  My version is half size and I left off the border.

I quilted this in mid-July 2013.

I put the binding on this weekend.  As in late August 2013.  Thank goodness for camper quilting.  My featherweight and I are going to put an end to my stack of unfinished quilts.  Or at least that's the plan.

The quilting is an allover square design to keep the quilt boyish.  

The backing is a brown flannel with blue and white polkadots.  The resulting quilt has a nice weight to it, but still moves easily and isn't too stiff.  

Linking up to Craft Buds Craft Book Month 2013 and Finish it up Friday.