A very good friend of mine recently turned 40, and so of course, I knew exactly what to get her.
Wonder Woman is a shared hero of ours, and when I found this Wonder Woman fabric in Lens Mills, (despite the crazy high price) I decided WHAT THE HECK you only turn 40 once!!!
I already had the perfect navy blue with white stars fabric kicking around, and added some bright red & gold cotton solids from my stash.
So here is the trick for making A Quilt in a Day.
1. Start early.
2. No one else around (cats don't count). A luxury, I know.
3. Have a solid plan/pattern in mind, draw it out & have the math done.
4. Have your batting & backing ready to go.
5. Free Motion Quilt to finish it up and use purchased binding strips.
So I had the pattern already sketched out; a basic "Strip Quilt" design with varying widths of fabric.
I knew I was making a larger sized lap quilt, and the width of the fabric 45" was perfect for this.
I cut strips using my handy dandy Olfa rotary cutter. I had just put on a new blade...let me tell ya. Ain't nuffin' like using a new blade to slice through fabric. Like buttah.
The strips measured out cut easily and I just draped the strips in the order I wanted them across my cutting table. I sewed them together in order and folded the quilt in my lap as I went.
Once sewed together iron the seams down.
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| All laid out in the familiar sandwich. I use spray baste 505 to baste layers. |
Heading downstairs to put on the batting & backing. I recently
have been going through all the blankets and flannel sheeting I have and
whittling it down by using it for batting. Why not?
It washes well and
as we know already, it's cozy and warm. So I used a cozy fleece blanket
for batting.
The backing is this amazing fabric I blogged about before; it is African Wax Print fabric and wow. Stunning colour (yes, I know it's B&W) and patterns; and the perfect neutral to even out any crazy front pattern.
I use painters' tape to tape down the backing layer on the floor. Then I add the batting, smooth out all wrinkles and baste them together with Spray Baste 505. I love this stuff. It works like a dream and even if you have to leave a project and come back days weeks later; it's still adhering.
I digress.
Add the top layer by repeating process of laying, smoothing & spraying baste.
I also use some pins on the edges, just in case. A few more in the middle and I'm all set to go back up and Quilt!
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| The Finish. |
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| I love the scrunched up look. |
I love to Free Motion Quilt (FMQ). Adjust your stitch length to a longer stitch, slow down your speed and put on your FMW foot.
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| Closed toe; I use the Janome cuz that's what machine I have. |
Technically the Darning Foot; but well, it's my FMQ foot. I actually prefer the closed toe rather than the open toe; I found the open would sometimes catch on the thread pattern if you weren't careful. Learning, always learning!
I chose to do a "WW" loose pattern, big sweeping "W's". I used an off white thread and it nearly disappeared on the backing side.
A bright blue premade bias tape binding finished this one off, and a wash on the gentle cycle and air dry had this quilt all set, in less than 10 hours!
................. and of course, it's Muffin approved.
So there you have it. I started around 8am and finished snipping the threads around 8pm.
And it was given with lots of love, and I know it is appreciated & will be cherished for years to come....
Sphinx reclining gracefully on the Wonder Woman Quilt in its new home.
XOXOXO Kelly!! Happy Birfday!!!
