A quilt for Alistair










It fills me with happiness and pride to look at this final quilt in my series of quilts for the children. What you see here, is Alistair's quilt. I so enjoyed the final few evenings of stitching down the binding on this quilt. I do love the colour and the contrast it forms to the plain backing.

Every time I make a new quilt, I want to do something that I have not done before. For Alistair's quilt, this meant curves. Sewing curves as such is not something new to me because I have some experience making clothes but so far, all my curves had straight lines. I used a drunkard paths acrylic template that has been gathering dust on my shelves since 2011 or thereabouts. The templates are quite big, resulting in a 7 inch block. Each of these blocks is combined with three others to form a circle. It was a breeze to sew and quite enjoyable, too. The only challenge was to get the seams pressed down consistently in the correct direction to avoid bulk in the final assembly. I am eternally grateful to Amanda Jean of Crazy Mum Quilts for her detailed and illustrated guidance about this challenge. If you scroll down on this post, you can find a pressing layout with neat little arrows. I still managed to make the odd "mistake" but on the whole, no bulky seams were created in the process.

If this quilt was for myself, I would make something like this but it isn't and I tried to make something that reflects Alistair's essence. I am not sure if I completely succeeded, he wasn't too keen on choosing fabrics from my boxes and he is the most difficult child of mine to read. I opted for simpler prints than usual but no less colourful. No florals for this boy, of that I was sure.

The backing is simple, a blue chambray that has been calling out to me to be used. It was meant to be a shirt dress but I just didn't have the energy to make one this summer. It is quite a fine fabric and a bit fiddly to work with. I chose to sandwich the quilt on my dining table to give my poor old body a break from kneeling on our hardwood floor. I started in the middle and worked my way out. There was quite some puckering and I had to go through the process again from the backing side. I have since sandwiched my hexagon quilt and I can say with confidence that the issues were with the soft and fine fabric, not my skills.

I chose not to hand quilt this quilt. I regret this a little it because it is my favourite part of making a quilt. My right arm needed a rest from hand sewing an entire hexagon quilt. Alas, Alistair won't know the difference and if he does, he won't care. I quilted in the ditch, thus duplicating the circle pattern with thread on the plain backing.

The binding is a mellow yellow, not quite mustardy, which I really really love. I also love this final step of making a quilt, attaching the binding. I am always a bit sad when I finish a quilt.

What do you think? It is very cheerful and perfect for Alistair. I want to give it to him for his birthday in December but I am not sure if I can wait that long. He as been waiting for so long, last of four quilts!

I now want to make a quilt with curves for myself. I wonder if that drunkard path templates comes I different sizes? I also recently saw this quilt and now really really want it. Chances that someone makes it for me are slim and I might just have to crack-on with it myself.

Thanks for stopping by and saying hello. Have a lovely week xx


Comments

  1. Wow, how rapturous Alistair's quilt is! A most beautiful finish, Christina. Love all those fabrics you have put together. This quilt sings bright and happy colour; all those circles and curves are fabulous. I think I too want a quilt just like the Flowering Snowball one, isn't it fabulous. Another quilt finished....on to your next one.

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  2. That is totally amazing again Christina. I really like it. Your machine stitching looks so much better than mine. I think I get a bit inpatient with the sandwiching part - you must have done a great deal of smoothing. It looks happy and bright with just the right amount of pattern. Have a good week! I am painting guttering!!

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  3. Oh I love love love this quilt Christina. It's beautiful. I'm sure Alistair is so happy to have such a colorful quilt.

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  4. Bravo on this magnificent quilt! I'm sure he will treasure this the rest of his life. It would also look good as a wall hanging. You're a very good mom to make each one of your children their own treasure. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  5. I love the brightness and happiness of this quilt. It's something that my Rachel would absolutely adore and I hope that Alistair loves it. How perfect to finish it in time for winter too when it will add some colour to your grey days. xx Susan

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  6. I love it, such a cheerful looking quilt. Hope Alistair loves it too.

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  7. That is very bright and colourful. I hope he will love it :)

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  8. It is beautiful and he'll have it forever. I would
    Love to make a jilt but don't know where to start. Also not sure my eyesight is up to it.

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  9. What a wonderfully colorful quilt, Christina, curves and bright colors all around. Hope that Alistair likes it as much as we fellow bloggers already do! As for when to give it to him, it depends on how far into Dec his birthday is as the next month is soon upon us. We have two family birthdays in Dec for grandchildren on Dec 4 and Dec 15.

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  10. It's fabulous Christina, so bright and cheerful. I think that Alistair will love it!

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  11. Beautifully done, lucky boy, he'll be thrilled I think. I shall look forward to seeing what you make for yourself. CJ xx

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  12. That's a beautiful quilt. I adore the colour and the contrast of it, how clever you are and how lucky your boy is! Meg:)

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  13. Top job, Mrs! He'll love it I'm sure. Clever you x

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  14. Love that quilt! And how could the soon to be birthday boy not love it, too? You've certainly worked your magic with your needle and thread.

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  15. I think it is perfect, absolutely perfect. You did a wonderful job and made a priceless gift for your son.

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  16. Oh my goodness, it is absolutely gorgeous. We'll Well done you, and what a lucky boy. I love it. I've been thinking about a quilt to start in the new year and now you have me wanting to make one like yours - or at least branch out and try some curved piecing. Inspirational.

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  17. That is superb! I love watching all your quilts take shape and the curves do create a fun design. You deserve to make one for yourself now, I like the image of the dear dottie quilt you shared, the white sets that one off a treat. x

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  18. This is absolutely stunning! The colours are beautiful.

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Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I love to hear from you, I really do. I sometimes reply by email but I am not all that reliable... Christina xx

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