Actually, I had a few days where I was unable to function. Then, in desperation, I paged through my Gwen & Freddy books for color and inspiration. This "Housetop" quilt caught my attention.
(ppg. 154-155 of Gwen & Freddy Collaborate Again)
I needed something I could do without too much thought or effort. This looked do-able and these 4.5" patches seemed like a good place to start.
Making a quilt of chevron or half log cabin or housetop blocks has been on my list of Quilts To Make for years. I gave myself permission to let this be the first one, and to let it be as scrappy as it needed to be. In two days I had seven blocks built up and trimmed down to 18.5," which is the size Gwen & Freddy used for their version.
Seven blocks was either one too many for a baby quilt or not enough for a larger person's quilt. Before I had made up my mind what to do my friend C~ talked with me about the need for quilts for the young men in the Foster Care system. Our local quilt group makes plenty of baby and child size quilts but the teenagers tend to get left out, especially the young men. So I decided to make five more blocks, and to try to skew the blocks masculine and older. This was not easy to do! I don't have a lot of florals in my stash but I do have a preponderance of feminine and juvenile prints - at least in my opinion. Eventually I had twelve 18.5" blocks though.
The second set of blocks were started with five inch patches, not 4.5," just because. I also tried hard to make them very dark. The upright sashes between blocks were cut from assorted 2.5" strips but all the horizontal sashing was cut from one print.
It took some doing to find an appropriate print for the outer border. I had just the right thing in my stash though. The gold in the horizontal sashing is reflected in some of the circles on the purple print. Woohoo!
So we have strips... and snails...
and puppy dog tails...
for a young man who, as we all know, will be a little boy at heart forever. ;- )
This is the very BEST kind of quilt ... one that you WANT to make and one that lets you PLAY.
ReplyDeleteI would say that your "first attempt" is a resounding success!
Very, very wonderful and perfect. Love your teapot and cup, and I lost my ability to function so far back, I cannot believe I can still figure out how to blog, much less quilt! Main reason I gave up on traditional..could no longer follow patterns, or think straight long enough to sew straight. Can so relate to you! Do love this and makes me want to make another one...like right now, yesterday!
ReplyDeleteI love this! I've always wanted to make this pattern too. Glad you could do it even when you didn't feel great. And playing is the best kind of quilt making!
ReplyDeleteI do think the young men, well all men mostly, tend to get left out - mostly it's women that make quilts and we buy fabric that appeals to us, so it's tough to find "guy" fabric in the stash. :) But I think you did a great job! My guild makes lap quilts for an assisted living facility and it's always hard to find fabric to make a more guy-like quilt.
Now I want to make one too!
Re Julie's comment Play is the operative word. I bet you had fun putting this together.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful job, and I'm sure the recipient will feel loved. I love your tea pot, it's so pretty!
ReplyDeleteNice to do something the boys can appreciate. I find that book so very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI really like the chevron quilt-it's great to see it when people make things for young men.
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to tell you how much I love your bird teapot!