Thursday, June 17, 2010

FO: Man Blankie



I finished the Feel Better Blanket a couple of days ago.


This was my first machine quilting project, and one of my first machine sewing projects ever, so be gentle.

If you look closely, you will see that there are literally hundreds of errors in both piecing and quilting, and I am quite certain that the experienced quilters among you are shuddering with horror at the way I resolved some of the many issues I encountered in making this.


For all that, I loved working on this project! I love, love, love the fabrics, which I got in the form of Freebird Charm Packs from Moda Fabrics. I did absolutely nothing fancy, just sewed the individual squares together as they pleased me.


The border is plain red cotton. I used a twin sized cotton quilt batt which I cut to the custom size of this quilt, and the backing is chocolate colored flannel to make it extra cozy.


I discovered that I really enjoy the feel of just sewing straight lines with my lovely old machine, and that playing with beautiful fabrics is just as wonderful as playing with beautiful yarns.


For the quilting, I winged it, ending up with an ad hoc plaid pattern. As you can see, I used contrasting dark brown quilting thread. I did this to tone down the bright colors a touch, since the KH declared them, "almost a little too cheerful." I think it worked well; I like the way the brown stands out against the bright fabrics, even though it makes every little quilting error jump out at you--and there are a lot of quilting errors.


I tried several methods to get the quilting to go smoothly. In the end, I found that I preferred using the original old edging foot that came with my 1962 Pfaff 360. I didn't like the even feed foot I bought, or the straight stitch foot, or the darning foot. But the edging foot has a guide that helped get the lines straight and even, or at least less wobbly and uneven than the other feet, and was smoother and quieter than the even feed foot.


To finish it, I cut off the extra batting and the wrapped the backing forward over the edge batting and folded the red edging backward over the batting and the backing and sewed it down by hand. (For the record, I do know how to make and attach bias binding, but I chose not to in this case.) As you can see, I'm no better at hand sewing than machine sewing, but at least I could do this part sitting on the sofa in front of the tv. I finished it off with a good machine wash and dry to make it all soft and crinkly.

The KH has barely let his "man blankie" out of his sight for the past two days. He carries it from the sofa to his upstairs office to our bed, depending on where he's hanging out. I have resisted calling him "Linus" because that be mistaken for criticism, when it fact it tickles and flatters me that he seems to love this blanket so much!

24 comments:

mkonieczki said...

I'm definitely not an expert in sewing or quilting, but I think it's beautiful! I love the fabrics and the border choices! Especially considering this is your first attempt, I think it's grand!

Gracey is not my name.... said...

I think it is lovely. I've toyed with the idea of making a quilt, just can't do it...

Anonymous said...

it's wonderful. It's got that "comfy cozy feel better" look to it!

nicely done!

Fibra Artysta said...

You are being entirely too hard on yourself. I'm a firm believer that the best quilts are the ones that are loved and cherished and that is certainly the case with your beautiful quilt.

You done good! :)

Patty said...

I love, love, love it! What a gorgeous job! Be proud, you created an extraordinary first quilting project.

sheep#100 said...

I like it.

Are you making one for me? My colors are blue and white ;o)

Suzanne said...

Its beautiful!! You did a wonderful job!

sophanne said...

That looks great. I so love that he is carrying it around. Just to make sure everyone in the house (human and otherwise) know who it belongs to.

At Home Mommy Knits said...

That turned out beautifully! I keep saying that one of these days I'll make a quilt but so far nothing. I'm going to head over to your link to the charm packs. It just might be the extra help I need to get started.

Anonymous said...

I'm an experienced quilter & I love it!

Lol said...

This is amazing, on any level a terrific quilt. You clearly have a feel for doing this type of thing.

Knitting Diva said...

Oh how I love your blankie! It actually makes me "Feel Better"!

Wanderingcatstudio said...

Gorgeous blankie!
I really like teh quilting you did on it - I might try that on mine - if I ever get the top, batting adn backing pinned together

Unknown said...

all that is so nice I think I shall send you my address. I don't mind if you send its surface mail.

SwissKnits! said...

I think this Man Blankie is PERFECT!!!!!

OMGoodness!!!! Personally my favorite quilts are the scrap quilts that are not so perfect, yet that bit of imperfection makes them So.Perfect!

They remind me of all the quilts Grandma had in her house, and the ones my best friends mom had from her mom... all crazy and from all the old clothes that they once upon a time wore! Those are great quilts!!!

marit said...

I love it!!! I totally understand why he keeps it close at hand!

VeganCraftastic said...

Your quilt is so gorgeous and fun, I love all of the colors!

aafke7 said...

It's inspiring! fabulously in color and tale! Why don't we all take your example and sew this Sunday?
I will!

Strickmuse said...

I think it is beautiful. Straight lines or not. I love the colored fabrics and the chocolate back. Great project.

Romi said...

I love it! It looks fabulous. :)

weezalana said...

Wow. That is absolutely fanTAStic! I don't blame him for carrying it around everywhere, I would too!

Anonymous said...

I am not a quilter, but I do appreciate good design. Love your quilting and the fabrics!

MelRedcap said...

My first reaction on seeing this was "Ooh! Nice!" and you say the recipient loves it... so it is definitely a success! Never mind the 'errors' you've noticed, the end result is lovely. :)

Haley said...

this turned out SO great! i LOVE it. can't believe how far back i had to read to catch up. can't believe it's been that long since i visited your blog. anyway, i enjoyed catching up. and i'm glad you figured out your chicken. i was telling my sister, also a chicken owner, about your crowing problems and she said--i think she has a rooster.