This is the linen quilt top! Eventual finished size should be about 60" by 76", which is quite a bit larger than I planned, but I like it better. Also, I think it will fit the (huge) wall better, as well as being a very usable size. I had cut way too many little strips and couldn't bear to see them stored in the closet, so I kept sewing and had more than enough for four pieced sections instead of three. There was some difficulty adding the sashing and borders without distorting the pieced sections (i.e., lots of ripping!), and the raw edges are showing the wear. Good thing I used 3/8-inch seam allowances. I'm handling it as little as possible now (hence, the unpressed look).
I've been playing with the camera's settings, and this photo is the best so far at showing the real colors. Well, it looks good before uploading, but not quite so good here. Ah, well.
I'm completely out of appropriate backing fabrics and all batting, so it will be a while before this top gets to the quilting stage. I'm going to hand quilt, and since the weave of most of the fabrics is rather coarse, larger stitches are in order. As for patterns, the current choices are down to either freehand fans, or freehand horizontal wavy lines. Fans have the edge.
Tomorrow, it's back to work for me---a new project is landing on my desk. I'm a freelance science editor, and the middle of winter is traditionally a slow time, so I've had the past few weeks off, thank goodness. I really needed it after about eight months of being seriously overbooked (plus fixing up the house to sell, and buying and fixing up the condo). When you work on your own, it's very hard to say no because there's always the worry that the next offer won't materialize soon enough. But one of my resolutions this year is to keep my work at a saner pace, and keep time for quilting and other things, including blogging!
5 comments:
This quilt is gorgeous. I am so inspired. Wow! Watch out, linen skirts!
really lovely. great color choices. is the wall a gorgeous deep color? seems like linen should be a bit wrinkly to me - part of its charm.
Tonya, the wall that will host this quilt is light (but not pale) green. Overall, we're going for a light, Scandinavian look. (That's one reason I chose the simple, graphic pattern. The other main reason is that linen is easiest to work with in simple, large pieces.) But this quilt would look great on a rich, earthy color, too.
Yes, Christina, one of my own linen shirts is in this quilt. My husband gets a might protective when I show interest in his cotton shirts and khakis. And then there's the silk tie with Santas and reindeer doing the can-can that suddenly appeared in one of my silk-tie-and-wool-suit quilts. (I swear he gave me permission!) It can be dangerous for clothing around here!
Thanks, everyone, for your comments!
Linen!! Who would have thought it would make a stunning quilt?
Oh, Meg, I'm so glad to hear you have designs for your husband's clothing...makes me less a weirdo. I am planning a wedding quilt and wanting to spirit away the tie he wore and add it in the quilt along with scraps of my dress!!
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