I don't make a lot of quilts. It's not because I don't want to, but they take a lot of time and material, and you need to have a plan for what to do with it afterward. It's something I'm hoping to get into a bit more in the coming years, which is why I joined my local quilt guild. That, and I like hanging out with people who know what a presser foot and a rotary cutter are.
The skill level in my guilt is beyond me. The things some of these people are able to make from fabric is just amazing. I don't let that stop me from participating though. I'm scrappy. 🤣
Our most recent challenge was to make a wreath quilt. The rules were pretty loose beyond that, but I decided on a Christmas wreath. I had a few ideas when I started, like I wanted it to be modern, use solid colors and incorporate some prairie points with an easy technique I had just learned. I ended up sketching out my own design, and honestly kind of winging it with the assembly, but I was so happy with the way it turned out!
(you can see my entry in last year's challenge here)
I got so involved with this process that I forgot to take many photos. You'd think after nearly 8 years of blogging I would have that down, but apparently not. I did cover a few things though, like the pattern itself.
When I was making the squares for the center, I cheated a little. Instead of worrying about whether I'd end up with the perfect 4 1/2" squares I needed, I cut 5 1/2", cut them in half to make the triangles, then trimmed them down after they were sewn together.The sashing around the wreath is 4 1/2" wide too.
I sewed each set of blocks into rows, then sewed the rows to each other. It was a little like assembling a puzzle, but I guess that applies to almost all quilts.
I think my favorite part of this quilt might be the prairie points. I found a great tutorial at Pieces of Rana's Life that shows how to make them in a continuous strip using two different fabrics.
You can see I went with simple rows for the quilting, and after much debate (with myself) I settled on red for the binding. I'm very happy with that decision.
I love the opportunity to challenge myself, and spread my tiny, quilty wings. I'm already looking forward to the next one!
