The Gypsy Soul Quilter

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Bradley's Houndstooth Quilt

Bradley recently graduated from the PhD program. As a going-away gift, I made him a houndstooth quilt to symbolize his time at the University of Alabama.

The quilt was made using a pattern by V. and Co. The houndstooth design is entirely pieced and went together wonderfully.

The quilting was done by 2 Quilt or Not 2 Quilt and features elephants. The backing is crimson red and I decided to bring the crimson to the front in the binding.

I love this quilt. I am going to have to make one for myself in the near future!

Peggy Barkle visited the West Alabama Quilter's Guild this July and taught a one-day workshop on her Blendable Curves technique. The technique involves sewing nine-patches and cutting through them with a rotary cutter. The pieces are mixed up and then sewn back together.

Although I truly enjoyed the class, my perfectionism did not agree with the technique (it bothers me that the points do not match up). Some of the other guild members used fabrics that read more solid and those seemed to turn out the best. The patterns of my fabrics do not feature the curves as well as a solid fabric could have.

Clark is a big fan of the quilt. I love the fabric - especially the back. I plan to donate it to Project Linus through the Evening Star Quilt Guild in Birmingham.

Boyd's School Quilt

The West Alabama Quilter's Guild itch-to-stitch program this year was to provide at least 35 twin-size quilts to the Boyd's School for boys. Our guild sure rose to the challenge. I believe we donated 67 quilts in total.

My quilt used the disappearing nine-patch pattern. I used three different black and white fabrics and backed it with grey fleece.

Unfortunately, after washing the quilt I noticed the seams with the white dot fabric were pulling out. Even though I purchased the fabric at a quilt store, it was of poor quality and frayed. Instead of scrapping the quilt, I made 1/2" bias tape and zig-zag stitched it down on both sides (which too forever)! Thankfully, it controlled the fraying and actually gave the quilt a really interesting look. I sure hope some lucky boy enjoys the quilt.

Laura Lou's Quilt

Our dear friends, Matt and Annie, welcomed their new bundle of joy to the world this week. Laura Louise's quilt will soon be on its way to North Carolina.

This is my first log cabin quilt and it was such a joy to make. I used strips from my scraps, which I organize according to Bonnie Hunter's technique. I followed tradition and used red as the center of the square. The use of red is to represent the heart of the home. Which seems very fitting in this case - Laura Louise is joining one of the most wonderful families I know.

After finishing the blocks, I searched through my stash to find a back. This bug fabric was picked up by my mom and is perfect with this quilt! It is almost as though I planned it. I could not have asked for a better back.