Twin Rocket Age Quilts

When I first saw Riley Blake's "Rocket Age" fabrics in the coming-soon section of some online shops, I knew I wanted to make use of it.  I decided to use the Lullaby Lane quilt pattern by Sassafras Lane Designs to make a quilt for a baby boy, without a particular recipient in  mind.  I was undecided as to exactly which prints and solids I wanted to use, so I ordered some alternatives too.  I pieced a top together up to the point of needing the applique, and set it aside.

Then twin boys came along, and I realized I had enough fabric to make two quilts.

The first quilt uses Kona Windsor as the solid sashing, with a blue stripe from Henley Studio as the applique background, and a solid red binding:

The other quilt uses Kona Orange for the sashing, a Rocket Age stripe for the applique background, and the Henley Studio blue stripe for binding:

I really like that stripe as binding; here's a detail shot showing some of the backing fabric too:

For the applique, instead of the blanket stitch I typically use, I opted for a sketch stitch.  I felt it was in keeping with the comic book style of the prints.  I made a pattern for the rocket by scanning the fabric and modifying one of the rocket shapes in Photoshop.



I did trapunto under the rockets, but I waited until after completing the background quilting to fuse the letters to the top, to have less starts and stops in the quilting.  I did spiral quilting for the first quilt, marking the first rounds and quilting with free motion, then using a walking foot to complete the larger rounds.  (See the top photo above.)

The other quilt is quilted in straight lines in a chevron shape; the inner section has lines 1/2 inch apart, while the outer lines are 1 inch apart.

I really like the comic book ads print used on the back.  I think I remember some of those ads from my comic books years ago.

 

 



 

 

I hope these baby boys enjoy their quilts!

 

 

 

(I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts.)



A Birthday Gift

I made a visor CD organizer for my teenage musician daughter, at her request, and gave it to her for her birthday.

I used the tutorial here, and added straps.  The fabrics are from "Jazz Jam" by Andover, plus a Basic Grey print.  My daughter plays piano and clarinet, so I was glad to feature them via easy fussy cuts.

Here's the back:

It's on the visor of her car now.

I made one for myself a couple of years ago:

A Pastoral Gift

Our pastor for the past 12 years recently retired, after 35 years of ministerial service.  In appreciation for what he and his wife have meant to our family, I made this mini-quilt for them.

The design is based on our church's logo:

I scanned the logo and "traced" it in Photoshop to draft a pattern.  I used paper piecing for the "stained glass" sections.  To achieve this, I straightened the gentle curves in those areas.  The background sections required curved piecing.  The inner curves were pretty tight; I figure if I can do those, I should be ready to start a pickle dish quilt.

The background fabric is Cotton Couture in Teal.  The "glass" pieces are all Kona solids: Chartreuse, Lime, Ivy, Turquoise, and (I think) Lagoon and Caribbean

Here's the back:

I signed it in the upper left, along with a note (I've cloned that part out).  I included a dowel which slips into the triangular pockets for hanging.  The backing fabric has a little bit of significance which I expect our pastor will recognize. 

 

 

My wife and I presented the gift to them yesterday at a retirement celebration.  We will miss them, as they are moving to a different state, but we wish them well in their next venture.