Wildly Quilting

For the past two weeks, I've been wildly quilting.  I mean that quite literally! 

Several years ago I bought material to make a quilt for my daughter without taking her with me to the fabric store.  When she saw my selections, she wailed, "Mom, I'm not a kid anymore!" and I had to concede her point. 

Where I'd chosen wildly, colorful prints, she was ready for something much more sweetly feminine which is exactly what we (please note the plural pronoun!) bought in our return trip to the store. 


Yet, fabric once cut from the bolt cannot be exchanged.  When I packed up our house this spring, I resolved that finishing this quilt and donating it to some worthy fundraising cause would soothe my tight-fisted soul.  So I carted the material and my sewing machine to D.C.

My original plan was to make a queen-sized quilt, but Jillian was right.  This fabric screamed child! 

Given the small size of most secondary bedrooms, I decided a twin-sized log cabin pattern would better suit its wild colors and tempt potential buyers.

Cutting strips and sewing them together in a assembly-line fashion, I soon had the twelve blocks needed for a twin quilt.  I experimented by laying the blocks out in several configurations on my carpet.  I decided a pinwheel pattern looked best.

Yet, I still had tons of strips left.  I wondered if there would be enough fabric for a second quilt.  After all, bunk beds are still a popular choice for many households, aren't they?

One of the reasons I love quilts is that they remind me of jigsaw puzzles.  This puzzle fabric is also sewn into this wild quilt.  I mention it here because puzzling out how to stretch my remaining strips into enough for a second quilt took some thought.

By rearranging the fabrics so the strips that were almost gone were now moved closer to the center solid square, I was able to squeeze out the additional twelve blocks needed. 

However, I had to add a few scraps from previous projects.  This block of "Wizard of Oz" fabric celebrates Judy Garland in her role as Dorothy.  I also included blocks of the Wicked Witch; Glenda, the Good Witch, and even Toto, Dorothy's dog; perhaps this will beckon a child to play "I Spy" quietly at naptime.

I mitered my bright striped fabric into a border between my two solid colors. 

I plan to add an eight-inch drop to the outer edge, using this wide-eyed fabric. 

Now, I'm wondering if any child will be able to fall asleep under such lively quilts.  Still, having gone this far, I've got to see it through. 

This photo shows that I'm close to finishing both quilt tops.  Though wild, I think each will look harmonious.

Once the drop is added, all that remains is to sandwich both quilt tops with inner batting and muslim backing.



Guess I'd better get back to wildly quilting!