Tuesday, August 03, 2010

fair and square quilt

This past weekend I spoke at the Margaret's Hope Chest Summer Work Party. I don't think I could ever grow tired of meeting new friends that share the love of quilting. I could, however, do without the 3 days of self doubts that plague me after teaching a class. :) But, I think it's safe to say that we all had a great time. And we got lots done!

When Carin asked me to teach, we agreed that I would design a quilt for especially for MHC. She wanted it to be a man/boy friendly pattern around 45 x 65, something that was easy to chain piece and something without borders.
fair and square quilt
This is what I came up with. I've made 3 quilt tops in this pattern so far and the variations/possibilities are endless. This version feels somewhat City Quilts-ish, wouldn't you say? I never thought I would make a quilt with black sashing, but this quilt made me want to run out and buy an entire bolt of black quilting cotton. It's fabulous!

The various green fabrics came from a scrap box that Heather had given to Victoria, who in turn shared the scraps with those of us who were at the Gruber's retreat back in June. I knew I was going to be making masculine quilts, and the hunter green fabrics weren't so popular, so I thought I would challenge myself to try to make them work in some quilt somehow. I'm so pleased that I did it!

I stippled the quilt in grey thread and as you can see, I used mostly black binding. I was so close to finishing the quilt, but didn't want to go buy more binding fabric, so I added a few green strips to make the black fabric stretch around the perimeter of the quilt. I chose the darkest green prints for minimal contrast. I love it when I can make do with what I have rather than buying more. Plus, it makes the final product so much more interesting.

The quilt measures 48" x 66" and it was named by my 9 year old son.

54 comments:

Linda at Roscoe's Ma said...

I love this!!

The Gaertegang Homestead said...

I really think the black sets off the other colors! I wanted to give you a head up that I have a giveaway going on at my blog....free layer cake of your choosing...I'd love for you to come and visit!

Karen said...

What a wonderful quilt!

Dolly said...

Fantastic finish !
Love that binding idea !

mamammelloves said...

Love this quilt! I'm also making a quilt for MHC. :)

Little Bluebell (Adrianne) said...

It does look city quilt-ish. I like how the gray thread makes the quilting stand out just a bit from the black and other colors.

Nancy Near Philadelphia said...

A very, very nice quilt with a very excellent name.

Sara B. said...

fair and square, lol, that's too cute. what a great name and design. one could do so much with that.

Theresa said...

Simple and stunning and what a clever boy to come up with that name! Well done!

MichelleB said...

I love it. It's a great pattern. I made a quilt for my son in similar colors and I still really like it.

Sherry said...

I just love it and how you were able to use what you ahd a home to finish it. Good for you

Mama Spark said...

Hey Amanda Jean, you were fabulous! I enjoyed meeting you and getting to know you. I love this quilt and am now trying how to quilt it. I think you need to put your doubts away. You were fantastic. I ended up leaving that thread on that machine! I knew I was going to do that. Remember that if you ever want a PA keep me on the short list and I am serious about that. Sometimes it is just fun to play a supporting role and to be a part of the fun!
XOP

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Yes! Very City-Quilty.

Nice to see a quilt that a man would appreciate. Well done!

Julie

Quilt n Queen said...

Sounds like you had a great weekend for a good cause. Mama Spark had a blast. Wish I had been able to go. Maybe next year. Thanks for the autographed pattern. I'll be making this quilt for sure. I like simple and fast.

Terriaw said...

This turned out so gorgeous! I love how cozy it looks. What a great thing you're doing in making this and doing a talk at the charity party. Definitely City Quilt-ish but a crazy momma flair!

Live a Colorful Life said...

Sometimes all the elements come together to make a simple yet great quilt--they certainly did with this one. Very City-Quilty, great choice of sashing color, quilting thread color and, definitely the name!

Regina said...

Love this quilt! It's nice to see the dark background as well. I just started a quilt for my son and I'm going to use Kona Ash with it.

Anorina @SameliasMum said...

It looks fantastic and very manly :-)

Sarah Craig said...

That is a great quilt! I'm going to add this to my "must make" list - it looks perfect for some homespun plaids I just received, and also for fabrics where you want larger pieces to showcase a great print! Thanks so much for sharing!!

House on Hilltop said...

Excellent name. Give him a high five. I love the quilt too.

Angie said...

Very cool quilt - this design looks great.

Oleander said...

gorgeous quilt. I love the colors.

Cheryl Arkison said...

Glad to finally see that quilt. And to hear that the class went well.

Liz said...

Fabulous quilt, i'm working an a similar one (king size) at the moment for a friends wedding

chq said...

I love your phrase, 'very city quilt-ish'. Love your quilt, and yes, very city quilt-ish!

Amber H. said...

I really like the quilt.. the pattern looks really simple and doable, yet like you said there's soo many possibilities. And I think while some quilts look too busy when they have pieced bindings, it works really well for this one.

paisley and lace said...

Great! I have a ziplock full of squares I cut from my boys' and husband's old shirts over the years. This inspires me to put them together in a similar quilt. I really like how it turned out.

Alexis said...

Great quilt! I love hearing about your design constraints and seeing the excellent result. Tell your son he gave it a great name too!

Quotidian Life said...

This quilt is perfect--I'd really like to make this for my son who is beginning college soon. What are the dimensions of your squares/strips? Thank you.

Contented Caroline said...

Simple always looks so effective when the right colour-combi is put together - I love this and think it would be a great idea for a christmas prezzie for my dad - he's always cold (wears a hat indoors throughout summer!!!). What dimensions did you use???

Kathie said...

Beautiful quilt and thank you for the inspiration needed to quilt for my step-mothers grand child. Time to pull that layer cake out...

Cristina said...

Hi Amanda
Just love it, this is my kind of quilt, simple and modern.

Unknown said...

great quilt, and VERY Cherri House like (which can only ever be a good thing!)
I love the tiny changes in colour on the binding, actually, I love it all!

Erin @ Why Not Sew? Quilts said...

I love it! Good name too.

Kimberly Whispell said...

Beautiful quilt, my husband has been bothering me for a "man quilt" lately. Nice idea with the dark colors, I will have to give that a try.

Danetta said...

I love, love this quilt. Any chance you will do a tutorial for it here? I wish I were close enough to attend one of your classes some time!

Jessica Christensen said...

I like that you quilted it in grey. It gives the black sort of a variegated look and lightens it up just a little. I have a ton of older dark greens that aren't really in style anymore. I've been wondering what I should do with them. I like the black -- and I never like black sashing very much (although I did recently buy a whole bolt of it for a quilt my daughter is doing).

mamadevlin said...

Love this quilt!! I have been wanting to do something similar for my son. Will you share this pattern with us??

Karen said...

You've inspired me to use some of those hunter greens that don't go with anything now. LOL! Love them with the black. Great quilt and it is very City Quilt-ish!

Valerie said...

*grin* I knew this post was coming! I loved meeting you on Saturday.....and I'm excited to try this quilt in something girly now. I have quite a few plaids and madras prints in pinks, oranges, and blues ---- reclaimed from PJ pants, button down shirts, and, of all things, a couple house dresses I picked up at The Salvation Army. I'm sashing in white and will be making quilts for the bunkbeds in our little camper.

beth said...

you succeeded in creating a masculine quilt that looks fairly easy to make!! Great job. That grey thread really gives the black fabric some great texture!!

Candace said...

Great quilt with a great name. Congratulations to you and your son. I'm not usually a green fan, but you made them look great, and I love the plaids mixed in.

Thimbleanna said...

Very Cool CrazyMom! That black almost looks like a dark gray from here -- I thought maybe you'd joined the gray craze!

Barbieann said...

I'll be doing one of these. Such a nice and great idea for the men in our lives

Annalia said...

Your son did a great job naming this quilt! - and the black looks great!

April (Polkadot Sparrow) said...

This IS a great manly pattern. Or for whatever. I love designing quilts but I always end up making things too complicated. Cheers on making a simple yet very effective one! :)

And you did a great job "being in front of people" this weekend. Better you than me. haha!

Rebekah said...

thank you SO much for a lovely weekend! I enjoyed meeting you and working on these quilts with you! Don't second guess yourself for one minute...you were great!

Will you be posting the pattern soon? I want my blog post about the weekend to coincide with the pattern release :)

Rene' said...

Amanda, this is a great quilt! It sounds perfect for Margaret's Hope Chest. I'll bet the Summer Work Party was a lot of fun. Wish I could have been there. It's great to see an interesting yet manish quilt!!! Kudos to your son for coming up with the name!!!

Rebecca said...

What a great quilt! I love the simplicity of it. It would be a great one to feature some beautiful fabric. Are you thinking of posting the pattern? It would be really great if you did! :o)

Tif said...

wonderful quilt!!! you are an awesome teacher!

Kate said...

Your son came up with a great name!

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

I think you met all the goals and then some with this quilt Amanda! It's wonderful and I can't think of any guy who wouldn't love it!

debbi d-w said...

Great quilt - it does have that "city" feel. Your son should hire out his naming talet - that's a terrific name!

Anonymous said...

Okay, now you know that your fans are going to be clamoring for a tutorial. May I be the first to clamor?
:) Another great quilt!!!

Brenda C.
Texas