From Start to Finish: Faded Denim Jacket

This is a post that follows the making of a quilt from my initial design inspiration to the finished quilt.

For years, I have been looking up at the ceiling in our church sanctuary. I'm not sure what they are called technically, but they help with the acoustics.

Here is a closer view of just one set.

I knew there was a quilt pattern in there somewhere--with three distinct values of light, medium and dark.

And suddenly the quilt idea popped into my head. I was visualizing a well-worn denim jacket and a soft floral button-down shirt with a white collar and cuffs.

A couple of months ago I had ordered the Robert Kaufman Railroad and Chambray fat quarter bundle from Purl Soho. They are beautiful, with lovely textures. While a few are heavier and more "denim" like, most of them are very soft, with a nice drape.

Robert Kaufman also has a line of lawn prints called London Calling. While I have some lovely authentic Liberty of London scraps, none of them were large enough for the quilt I was envisioning.

I was able to get two charm packs of the latest London Calling line. Having never actually felt this line, I was thrilled to find out that it felt so much like the Liberty of London scraps.

I based the entire quilt on 5" unfinished squares, and added Kona snow for the lightest value. It's basically a seven-by-seven block, done four times for this quilt.

It is really such an easy quilt to make. You lay out the block identically for each of the four blocks, sew each one,  and then just rotate them so that one light corner square is always in the center. I easily sewed it together in one day.

And then Mark and I took it to the coast by Monterey and Carmel for some beauty shots.

I backed it with some soft chambray, and boy do I wish I could remember the manufacturer. For whatever reason, I had six yards of it! Note to self: be consistent in labeling solids and near-solids for future reference.

Then Darby worked her quilting magic on it.

This quilt is wonderfully soft. It is the perfect weight for a summer quilt. Well, a summer quilt for somewhere other than the central valley of California, that is.

And then we stopped for a picnic on 17-Mile-Drive. It was a perfect day.

Quilt: Faded Denim Jacket
Size: 70" x 70"
Designed and Made by: Cindy Wiens
Quilted by Darby Myers

I'm linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts, Fort Worth Fabric Studio, TGIFF and Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Have a lovely weekend.

The Name Game: Faithful and True Tattoo

This is a complete departure from the normal Name Game posts in that it has nothing whatsoever to do with quilting or sewing. However, it does have something to do with creativity.

So let's just get some things out of the way right from the beginning. (Disclaimer: My mother has already seen it, so she is not just now learning about it via social media.)

1. The person who owns Faithful and True Tattoo, Everett, has no idea I'm doing this blog post. But I was curious about how he chose the name for his business and he seemed happy to share that information, and didn't mind that I kept snapping pictures.

2. I know some of you who know me will be saying, "What were you thinking????" The fact is, I have been thinking about this for well over ten years. So it was definitely not some spur-of-the moment, impulsive decision.

I have a tattoo. Nothing too earth-shattering about that, other than perhaps my, ahem, age. What may be more surprising is that I received my information on what to expect and recommendations about who to choose from our church worship team leader and my enabler, partner-in-crime, daughter-in-law, Christa, who accompanied me to the appointment (and got a little touch-up herself).

The name Faithful and True was chosen based on a verse in the Bible, Revelation 19:11, "Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider was called Faithful and True..."

First of all, I could have moved into his tattoo studio. Seriously. I might have mentioned it to him a time or two. It was nothing at all what I expected. It was very rustic-industrial. Concrete countertops (which Everett did himself, I found out later), exposed ducts in the ceiling, wood, steel, etc. It would make a great sewing studio.

He shellacked these old lockers. It was a very cool finish.

This display of inks was so beautiful.

Things I knew for sure were that I wanted the tattoo to be sewing related and I wanted to see it, in a place that wouldn't distort with age. Ha. Why go through all the pain for something I would never be able to see later, or would morph into some wonky shape.  For years I had considered choosing a quilt block. But in the end I decided on a simple word, "Create."

First I ordered a temporary tattoo from Etsy because I wanted to live with something not so permanent while I made up my mind for sure. I loved the font and the size.

The only adjustment was that I wanted the "t" to be crossed with a sewing needle and end of the "e" to kind of thread through the eye of the needle. I had doodled several different options but nothing ever looked like what I envisioned. However, Everett was able to come up with something simple and effective in a matter of minutes.

I'm not going to lie. It hurts. But it probably took less than five minutes.

I'm happy with it. I'm glad I did it. And when I asked our granddaughter, Charlotte, what she thought, with a smile she said,  "Grandma, I won't judge." I hope no one else will either.

Reserve Champion: What Shade Are You?

Today my quilt is on the RJR Quilt With Love blog as part of their recurring What Shade Are You? blog series.

Lately I have been working nearly exclusively with solid fabrics, so the opportunity to work with different brands and their unique colors is always interesting. This is the second time I have worked with RJR Cotton Supreme Solids and I highly recommend them (you can read about the first quilt here and here).

I was able to choose a set of 12 colors, ending up with four color groups with three values in each, and then added two neutrals.

I always use the latest state of the art design program graph paper and colored pencils when I'm working on something new. One day I'll actually learn how to use EQ7 with some proficiency. That's the goal anyway...

My idea was to use the traditional Sisters Choice block, alternate grid, and a partial larger block, along with alternating dark and light backgrounds within the blocks themselves.

After I sewed the original design together, something just didn't seem right. The large block in the lower left corner made it seem bottom heavy, and the negative space just didn't sit well.

I took most of it apart, made a couple more blocks, and ended up with a design that seemed much more visually appealing.

I used the extra blocks on the back.

The negative space gave Darby a chance to really make the quilting stitches pop.  I just love the little circles here and there.

Mark thinks I would be remiss if I didn't explain how I came up with the quilt name, Reserve Champion. Originally I was trying to think of a male version of Sisters Choice, since I have no sisters, but I do have one brother. I couldn't think of anything that worked. My brother works for the Federal Reserve, and the name Reserve Champion just popped into my head. I realize that a reserve champion is normally given to a second place finisher, but I don't think that applies in this case. I'm really thrilled with the quilt, and I'm sure my brother is confused thrilled to have a quilt named after him. :)

Name: Reserve Champion
Size: 60" x 60"
Designed and Made by: Cindy Wiens
Quilted by Darby Myers

If there is any interest, I would be happy to write up a short tutorial.

And because it is Friday, I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts, Fort Worth Fabric Studio, TGIFF, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.