Waaay back during the pandemic my niece (a.k.a "The wonder baby") got engaged and there was joy in the family. I thought long and hard about what to get her and her future husband for a wedding present. And even though they weren't married yet, they bought a house and that resulted in me deciding to make them a quilt. Since we have very different thoughts on style and even favorite colors I told her that I would need her assistance in selecting a quilt pattern and colors but that the exact details after that were up to me.
I started the search for a pattern in Jan 2021 and after many exchanges settled on a modernist pattern called Upwards. As for fabric colors she decided to stay with colors similar to what was shown in the pattern picture.
In May 2021, when things started to ease from the pandemic, the fabric hunt began. I decided I wanted to stay with on fabric manufacturer and pattern so the fabric all had the same design. I found a fabric family at the quilt shop in New Braunfels but wasn't thrilled with it only because the overall tone was more what I like and I was not certain she could like it. I then hit the road and when to a great quilt shop out in La Grange, The Quilted Skein, which is a 2.5 hour drive - each way. While in La Grange I also when to the Texas Quilt Museum which was nice but I wasn't thrilled with the current exhibition. Note: They did get married in May so this was perfect timing.
The ladies at the quilt shop were very helpful and I found a fabric family that I lined and I knew she would like too. Now, the largest size quilt in the pattern was a double so I had done the math before I left to get fabric for a square Queen/King which would result in the quilt being 106" by 106". I bought the white, gold, grey blue, and navy blue fabric and the backing would be from "backing" fabric which is 108" wide that would be pieced together since the backing has to be 4" wider, on each edge, to get put into a long arm quilting machine. I also planned on going to the Houston Quilt Festival to find the fabric if/when the pandemic was over.
I started cutting and sewing the blocks and in October I went to the Quilt Fest and found similar colors for the backing fabric. Soon afterwards working on the quilt came to a halt as I had a new job and I was planning a big trip to Scotland so I was training for the walk and gathering my supplies. The trip was a success despite coming home with Covid...
I resumed work on the quilt in November 2022 and had the blocks finished and was about to start the assembly when the Shop Elf passed away in January and that put a grinding halt to all sorts of things I had in process.
When October rolled around I was ready to start on the quilt again. I started laying out the blocks to sew the top together and I decided not to use the cut pieced blocks (half and quarter square triangles) around the outside edge and instead use solid pieces of fabric that make up the pieced blocks. It took about 3 days to assemble and sew the quilt top. Then I worked on the backing which took another 4 days to design, iron, cut, sew and iron. FINALLY, I could take it to the quilter. Due to cost I am going to sew the binding on myself; I made the double fold binding from gold, navy blue, and grey blue of the backing material. I now have 12 yards waiting for the quilt to be returned from the quilter sometime around the New Year.
That left me with 11 pieced blocks so what was I to do with them?? I doodled a while with layout and came up with a wide layout that I could piece with solid edge pieces like the large quilt that would be perfect for the back of a couch. And of course because I am an over achiever, I used more fabric from the large quilt's backing to piece together a backing for this quilt which will make it a 2 sided quilt. I took so long to make the wedding quilt and they are in a "new home" I decided that this bonus quilt would be the house warming present.
Today I am starting the quilting on the bonus one. When both quilts are done I will post more pictures but for now, enjoy these pictures below.
I started the search for a pattern in Jan 2021 and after many exchanges settled on a modernist pattern called Upwards. As for fabric colors she decided to stay with colors similar to what was shown in the pattern picture.
In May 2021, when things started to ease from the pandemic, the fabric hunt began. I decided I wanted to stay with on fabric manufacturer and pattern so the fabric all had the same design. I found a fabric family at the quilt shop in New Braunfels but wasn't thrilled with it only because the overall tone was more what I like and I was not certain she could like it. I then hit the road and when to a great quilt shop out in La Grange, The Quilted Skein, which is a 2.5 hour drive - each way. While in La Grange I also when to the Texas Quilt Museum which was nice but I wasn't thrilled with the current exhibition. Note: They did get married in May so this was perfect timing.
The ladies at the quilt shop were very helpful and I found a fabric family that I lined and I knew she would like too. Now, the largest size quilt in the pattern was a double so I had done the math before I left to get fabric for a square Queen/King which would result in the quilt being 106" by 106". I bought the white, gold, grey blue, and navy blue fabric and the backing would be from "backing" fabric which is 108" wide that would be pieced together since the backing has to be 4" wider, on each edge, to get put into a long arm quilting machine. I also planned on going to the Houston Quilt Festival to find the fabric if/when the pandemic was over.
I started cutting and sewing the blocks and in October I went to the Quilt Fest and found similar colors for the backing fabric. Soon afterwards working on the quilt came to a halt as I had a new job and I was planning a big trip to Scotland so I was training for the walk and gathering my supplies. The trip was a success despite coming home with Covid...
I resumed work on the quilt in November 2022 and had the blocks finished and was about to start the assembly when the Shop Elf passed away in January and that put a grinding halt to all sorts of things I had in process.
When October rolled around I was ready to start on the quilt again. I started laying out the blocks to sew the top together and I decided not to use the cut pieced blocks (half and quarter square triangles) around the outside edge and instead use solid pieces of fabric that make up the pieced blocks. It took about 3 days to assemble and sew the quilt top. Then I worked on the backing which took another 4 days to design, iron, cut, sew and iron. FINALLY, I could take it to the quilter. Due to cost I am going to sew the binding on myself; I made the double fold binding from gold, navy blue, and grey blue of the backing material. I now have 12 yards waiting for the quilt to be returned from the quilter sometime around the New Year.
That left me with 11 pieced blocks so what was I to do with them?? I doodled a while with layout and came up with a wide layout that I could piece with solid edge pieces like the large quilt that would be perfect for the back of a couch. And of course because I am an over achiever, I used more fabric from the large quilt's backing to piece together a backing for this quilt which will make it a 2 sided quilt. I took so long to make the wedding quilt and they are in a "new home" I decided that this bonus quilt would be the house warming present.
Today I am starting the quilting on the bonus one. When both quilts are done I will post more pictures but for now, enjoy these pictures below.
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