Making a lap quilt
Yes, I’ve been AWOL (Absent WithOut Leave) again….. I plead the holidays, kids, exhaustion, and needed to re-charge. So what does one do? Quilt of course! I spotted the panels for this quilt on eQuilter a while back and loved the motifs so much I ordered up a set. Then in late October I saw a quilt in the Maine-ly Sewing booth at a small regional show made with them and decided that’s what I needed to do…make a colorful lap quilt (like we need another for the sofa…NOT! …but when does that stop a diehard quilter?).
So I bought a bit of fabric from Maine-ly Sewing. Then I saw more of the line at Alewives Fabric, and bought MORE. Ahem. I had some serious “Visa Accidents” this past 45 days….. books and fabric! (like I need more books and fabric…NOT! …but when does that stop a diehard quilter?) So just before Christmas, to prevent implosion and breakdown, I started! Thinking to make a quilt similar to one I saw at Alewives, I cut MANY 2 inch squares, thinking I’d make two rows of checkerboard sashing between the blocks. It turns out the blocks are a weird size, so I edged them in the perfect hand-dyed rusty orange I had, but decided they also needed a SECOND fiddly, skinny outline in black.
UGH. It was even worse the more I added……
So I looked at what fabric I had, and said “green it is!”
I went out and bought minkee (a lovely creamy yellow) for the back. THen discovered I had only one quilt batt anywhere near big enough, and that one I needed to save for something else. So I decided to quilt without a batting…just the top and the minkee. To compensate for the slipperyness of the minkee, I spray basted a bit heavier than usual. Mistake. Even though I used a combination of threads that has been flawless in the past, I had snarls and fits everywhere with the black thread quilting. I tried every trick in the book. I changed needles, I changed tension (top and bottom), I changed the placement of the thread. I still got the occasional thread clots. I gave up and just kept quilting. This is clearly NOT going to be a show quilt! But it will be snuggly despite the appearance of some not-so-nice moments on the back. Of course, I haven’t taken a picture of the finished quilt, so that’ll come later…
January 8th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
I’ve been using the Minkee for backing for a couple of baby quilts I’ve been making. It is very nice an snuggly, but I really hate working with it. But I use the same thread on the top and bottom and something that matches the color of the Minkee to help hide the thread as much as possible. I also use a batting, which might help as well. But once I finish this series of quilts, which will end when the families who are receiving these quilts stop having babies, I’m done with Minkee…. I love it, but not for quilts!
January 8th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
My favorite quilts to snuggle under are not necessarily the most beautiful, but they sure are warm. Some flannel, some backed with fleece, and I love making baby quilts with Minkee.
That fabric is seriously gorgeous – the quilt is beautiful, Sarah. What fabric line is it? Wonderfully classic wood-cut art theme.
Thanks for sharing!
January 8th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
I love, love, LOVE those panels. LOVE!
January 9th, 2010 at 1:39 am
I have made 2 quilts backed/batted with fleece and I hate working with it. It stretches and gets wonky, while the woven cotton top does not. Hard to work with, heavy when large (these were full/queen bed sized), and for some reason, I had to make one of the two in July (a birthday was involved), so also HOT to work with!
The ONLY plus is that you don’t have batting to migrate, so it doesn’t need much quilting. Never again, I hope.
January 9th, 2010 at 8:25 am
Love your final fabric choices! Have never worked with Minkee, although I love to pet it at the stores. I’m sure your quilt will be great to cuddle up under!
January 9th, 2010 at 8:55 am
I love it! Sorry you had such problems with it but the result looks great (and we’re not there to inspect the back…)! The green is perfect. Sally
January 9th, 2010 at 11:25 am
Love the colors in the print and the fabrics you framed with but I’m not so sure about the pieced bit you made for sashing. The fabric you ended up using is much better!
I’ve used fleece as backing (no batting) for a couple of lap robes using the birthing method of stitching the top to the backing, then topstitched around the edges. One was then minimally quilted, the other not quilted at all but the fleece clings enough to the top for that not to matter. Of course I pinned like crazy when stitching but there were no real problems.
January 9th, 2010 at 10:10 pm
I love the green fabric and the sashing fabric you decided on. I often have to go through the same process before I get it right. I suppose that is quilting for you. It’s a pain at the time but rewarding when it finally comes together.
Thanks for sharing.
January 10th, 2010 at 11:08 am
Oh, I agree that those panels are SO wonderful and your choice of the background fabric was a great choice with the green, better than the pieced squares which might have detracted from the panels. The blocks look like applique for sure! It’s beautiful. That said, although I love the snuggly feel of Minkee, I HATE working with it and won’t again. I would be tempted to go with a flannel instead, especially since I have seen some beautiful ones lately.