My dad's gift took a little bit more time to think of what I could do. And a lot more discussion with mom. I had originally thought of trying to make him a wind chime. My parents have a few gardens at home and my dad enjoys putting knick-knacks to go along with the flowers. But after talking to my mom more I decided that a blanket was a better choice. We have a gorgeous quilt, that my aunt made, that my mom was actually getting a little concerned about. Both my parents use it while they're in watching TV or hanging out in the living room. It's just a small throw, but it was starting to get worn down from use and washing. My family lives in New England so blankets during the winter months are pretty handy.
Well then I had to decide...do I want to crochet or sew a blanket? I figured since my parents get the most use out of the quilt...I needed to sew it. The only problem is I'd only made a t-shirt quilt...and well...let's just say I only take that out every so often...it's not the most fantastic of my work. Granted, I did it about 4 years ago...so it's been a bit.
So now I knew I wanted to sew. Next step...picking out material. I knew I wanted to make it a Clemson "themed" blanket. My dad and I often text each other during the Clemson games. Having gone to a high school with no football team and an undergraduate school with no football team, I think my dad was just as excited to be able to have a non-pro team to cheer for. When I was shopping at Walmart I saw these great orange bandanas. PERFECT! When I was younger my dad always wore a bandana when he was working outside, so I knew he'd enjoy this.
It took a little bit of work and time to find enough orange and enough purple...the purple was the challenge...in fact I'm pretty sure I have about 12 extra orange ones in my fabric stash still.
Next, I sewed the bandanas together flipping between orange and purple. I made the quilt three bandanas by 4 bandanas. (I feel like that could be a line in a children's song...anyways...) Now these were big...each are 22 by 22 inches. The other challenge is that bandana edges aren't necessarily straight. So when pinning and sewing I went with the printed outer edge border instead of the edge of the material.
Next I sewed on the batting...this took the longest amount of time. Actually, a lot longer than I thought it would. I sewed on the batting (the stuff that makes it really warm) and stitched in each corner where the colors met. Then I actually hand quilted around every other paisley in the center. I wish I had hand quilted around the border, but again...that was a LOT of paisley. I did not attach the backing until after I was done. I liked the idea of a smooth back.
When I did sew the backing (which was just a full size orange sheet that I cut to the correct size for the quilt) on I actually put the backing face and the quilt face together, sewed around almost the entire edge and then flipped it inside out and closed it. Again, this was the first "real quilt" I made. So I didn't want to get overly elaborate and not have it ready for my dad. I didn't use a binding (that outer edging around the quilt).
The cost wasn't too terrible either.
Bandanas-$1 a piece at Walmart
Batting-$12 at Wal-mart for a Full Sized Queen Quilt
Backing-$12 Full sized sheet.
Thread- $8 total (1 white for the quilting, 1 orange for attaching the backing)
And a close up of the squares.
(Look at all that paisley!)
My dad LOVED it which made me beyond excited. I think it was a good way to start my quilting adventures and I definitely plan on continuing this trend!
I'm crazy impressed with your hand quilting. That is no fun. I hand tied a quilt once, and that was enough for me. I really like this idea, and it would make a perfect gift for a friend of mine....hmmm, now the question is do I have enough time to make it happen.
ReplyDeleteThat is the only part that took a lot of time. My mom, who's SUPER talented at quilting thought I was nuts for hand quilting haha. I worked on it probably every other day for about a month to a month and a half.
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