Remember that blue quilt top I posted about here. Well I have finally finished it. The idea came from this quilt, which I thought would be an easy, yet very effective masculine quilt design. My brother celebrates the 'BIG 40' this year, so what better excuse to make a quilt for him. Using an assortment of solids from Spotlight ranging from a rocky gray, darkest navy and various blues ending in the softest baby blue, and measuring approximately 66" square, this top was sewn together in no time. In fact I probably spent more time cutting the fabric and pinning the strips than sewing it.
The backing is predominately a blue/black shot cotton with a strip of solid offcuts echoing the quilt top.
I quilted it in a large grid design using various shades of blue thread and bound it with a chartreuse and blue triangle print, which I thought echoed the blues but framed and livened the quilt up.
This quilt was not made without drama though. Originally I had been going to quilt in a diagonal cross hatch and had drawn lines for this with my Frixion pen. After changing my mind, and putting heat on the Frixion lines, I was still left with marks. Usually I stitch over the marks and then any residue disappears. Not this time, obviously no stitching and solid fabrics was not a good combination. After binding, I rubbed Sard wonder soap over the marks, and gave it a cold machine wash. This seems to have gotten rid of them. I have since discovered that Frixion pens were not designed for fabric use and lines can reappear in extreme cold too, I am thinking a Hera marker may be a good investment for future quilting, especially for my Liberty Bloomsbury quilt.
Now it is all wrapped and ready to gift to him, along with a lint roller for the inevitable cat hair which will unfortunately show up on the dark colours.
Ha, ha! I did wonder what the lint roller was for! The quilt looks great, sorry about the Frixon pen though. Definitely get a Hera marker- I couldn't live without mine! I have been using it all weekend to mark my Glitter quilt!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing gift, one that will be treasured for a long to come. Made with love.
ReplyDeleteIt is beautiful!!! A wonderful gift for anyone!
ReplyDeleteHandsome!! I like the lint roller. What is his cat's name?
ReplyDeleteCarla
Simple but effective... a lovely finish! And that binding was the perfect choice!
ReplyDeleteOh dear....quilt dramas seem to raise their head too often. I'd not heard of Frixion pens, how frustrating this must have been. Thankfully you have discovered the problem before using it on your Liberty quilt. I've quietly wondered if a Hera marker damages the cotton fibres - but I've not read anything to that effect, so hopefully it doesn't. Your brother's quilt looks great and a lint/fur roller is a very thoughtful addition.
ReplyDeleteVery nicely done! I've read that the frixion pens sometimes leave marks on dark fabrics, so I've stuck to using them on whites and avoided that particular catastrophe (although, like Karen mentioned, I've had plenty of other dramas... sigh) I use a hera marker pretty often for marking, but it *is* kinda hard to see on many fabrics. I've read that fine tipped crayola *washable* markers make great fabric markers that completely wash out. I can't attest to that myself, as my children absconded with mine and they have disappeared. I haven't replaced them, because I keep thinking, 'they've got to be *somewhere*...' ;-) The inclusion of a lint roller was a great idea ~ I'll need to remember that, should I ever gift a dark solid quilt to a pet owner.
ReplyDeletePerfect quilt for a male's 40th! Those quick quilts can be very refreshing to make :-) Whew, pleased you were able to get rid of the marker - I have heard so many people raving about these and just as many people warning about them, I've decided to not even try locating them!
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