Thursday, May 19, 2011

gingham

Quilting isn't a good hobby for a perfectionist, so says my sister, and I have to agree. This quilt has a few issues (that I won't outline here), but I have to say, it does look good from a distance. And really, the issues aren't all THAT bad, but I have a strong perfectionist streak, so they bug me! 

I'm not sure why I had to make gingham. I guess once the idea popped into my head, I just had to do it. I'm really glad I did! I could go crazy making this in so many color ways. I debated adding something to the quilt top, as you may remember, but in the end, I decided to keep it plain old gingham. I'm very happy with that choice.
I backed it with aqua (Wendover Aqua Sky from Hancock Fabrics), and did simple straight line quilting echoing the seam lines by 1/4". Well, the lines are supposed to straight.
The lime green solid (I'm pretty sure it's Country Classic Cotton in Lime from JoAnn's) is a little more "electric" than I was hoping for, but in the end I think it works pretty well. I love that this ended up being a gender neutral quilt. My boys both want it, but I'm not sure that they need any more quilts. I also love that this is one quilt that I can cross off my WIP list. Yipee!

The quilt measures 48" x 66".

80 comments:

jenni said...

I totally think everything about this rocks. Even the green you think might be a bit too electric.

Helen in Switzerland said...

I love this quilt! The gingham effect is so unusual - and the green binding absolutely makes it!

Stray Stitches (Linda G) said...

Beautiful quilt! I'm sure your boys could always use a new quilt made by mom!! I think the green is a wonderful accent color.

thea said...

Glad you stayed with just the gingham .. it's beautiful. May I ask how much of each fabric you used?

Amanda Jean said...

thea,

i used about 1/2 yard of the dark grey and the white. and about a yard of the medium grey. if i recall correctly. :)

aj

donna!ee said...

thank you much for sharing your quilting adventures here...it truly helps me jump in with both feet and experiment! :)

Glynis said...

The front is soothing and comforting, while the back with the binding adds some zest! Very refreshing!

Gwendolyn said...

So glad you decided to leave the quilt face to stand on its own! And I love the lime green binding! Congratulations!

CJ said...

I love it! Gingham always appeals to me. I might have to give this a try...what are the obstacles?? I see nothing wrong with your quilt.
What size squares did you use?

susiloci said...

Es muy bonito y parece sencillo.

Quiltn Mama said...

I love that quilting FORCES me to give up my perfectionist proclivities (at least temporarily) otherwise, the whole creative experience would suck eggs! I like your quilt...it's soothing in a world that's filled to the brim with people and things that scream non-stop for our attention.

Cheerful Homemaker said...

I think it's great! I'm glad you didn't include the giant daisy. The simplest solution is most often the best solution.

Anonymous said...

What a great idea! I've got some vintage gingham yardage that I was wondering what to do with. You've given me the answer! Lovely quilt!

Anonymous said...

That is exactly my issue with quilting ----- I would love to be a neat accurate q.uilter but I am never going to be--- I really am not. But I love to look at yours

Twinfibers said...

Oooh, I think it's great! The contrast backing and binding make it so much fun. :)

audreypawdrey said...

I love gingham so much, and this is an awesome gingham quilt! I really love the contrast of the green with the subdued grays on the front; it is perfect to me! It would be so cute in pink gingham for a little girls room.

Kelly O. said...

simply lovely! I may have to try this!

Mrsblocko said...

Oh this turned out wonderful. I can see why your boys both want this. And the green and aqua...LOVE IT!!!!

Jane said...

What a great guy quilt! I life the contrast of the mannish front with the playful, color back & binding.

Clair said...

It ended up looking pretty decent. I would have made red gingham, though.

Irina said...

I love it. I think it looks great and the colours, all of them, go well with each other.

KendasCrafts said...

i love, love, love it! What a great idea! I think it looks better without the daisy. The simplicity speaks volumes. Great job! I am definitely adding this quilt to my inspiration board.

Live a Colorful Life said...

I REALLY like this quilt. and I love the pop/jolt of green in the binding, and the lovely color on the back!

Emily said...

Awesome effect...I love both the turquoise backing and lime green binding. Without them it might be a bit boring.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Terriaw said...

Love it! I especially love the backing and binding color combo - very fun. I don't think human hands can make straight lines, which is the beauty of handmade. If we wanted to have machine-made things produced in a factory, we would buy them from a big box store. Enjoy your handmade gingham cuz it's very cool!

Annie said...

It looks great to me ...I'm so glad I'm not a perfectionist ...could be a problem here

mamammelloves said...

I LOVE this quilt! I think I'm gonna have to make one too! :)

RosaMaría said...

such amazing quilt!!!
love the contrasting colors at the back and binding!

Trisha said...

I love the concept of making your own gingham. Very cool!

Becky (My Fabric Obsession) said...

Oh, very creative! Love it! It turned out fantastic.

Ashley said...

How fabulous! I love that you thought to make gingham! And the backing and binding are perfect!

Suzanne said...

I would have never thought to do this but I love it. I am intrigued. I wonder what would happen if I used white and two colors of alternating values (red on white and white on red) to make one like this. I may have to make a mug rug. Thanks, Amanda Jean!

bethanndodd said...

Great work...imperfections and all!!

Liz said...

Looks awesome!

tink's mom said...

Gingham, what a concept. i love it, all of it.

Mary said...

This quilt is great, the concept, the execution and all the colors. Perfect!

Amanda Jean said...

CJ,

The squares finish at 2.5", so they are 3" cut.

AJ

Sharon Pernes said...

The quilt came out beautiful!

Rachel said...

Wow. This is awesome!!

Dara said...

I can relate to the fight against perfectionism!!

Sara said...

Happy that you admitted to not having straight lines--there I admitted it!! he,he

I love the gingham and the back and the binding--all of it is sweet!!

Now I am thinking of using gingham in black and white in my brother's quilt. Could ya take a peek over at my blog and take a look at this: http://tinyurl.com/3bwqpbe and let me know what you think I should do for a binding? I would really appreciate it.

Sara said...

I love it...it is such a simple quilt and the lime green makes it POP!

Cyndi Frailing Nelson said...

I LOVE your color choices! The lime green really finished it off nicely!

Anonymous said...

This reminds me of a little country boy. Love it!

carol said...

What? You (on purpose) made a quilt that looks like gingham? Are you sure you don't have a fever? I could have sent you a whole slew of gingham. All you had to do was ask.

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

This is so cool Amanda!

jodie said...

I really like this quilt! I will be honest, when you first started, my reaction was "Why?" but it does look great. Well done!

Ann Ferguson said...

Love this one as usual - is it ok to make one like it one day??

SewSara said...

this is seriously amazing!! i want to give it a try with red!

Kirsten and Tracy said...

OMIGOSH!!!! I love.Love.LOVE this quilt!!! Now I might have to follow your example! It is beautiful!!!

Tracy

Denice said...

It's a fantastic quilt. Glad you left it just the way it was!

Jessica Christensen said...

So nice to finish things. This looks great.

Cindi said...

Absolutely love it!!

Jennie @ Porch Swing Quilts said...

I'd forgotten about your gingham - and now I want to make one of my own again! I love it, regardless of whatever flaws it might have. Well done.

Tracey @ozcountryquiltingmum said...

took me a minute to work it out...but looks great, well done!

Chris said...

I think it's so easy to see our own flaws so very clearly. That inner critic comes screaming from the backs of our minds - and it's so wrong!

In reality, whoever receives this quilt is very fortunate.

I will say this however: I have free motion quilted for years, and I decided that straight lines on the warp and weft of the fabric are just SO not worth it. The stitches and lines just look crappy - no matter how experienced I am. Any missteps or skipped stitches or wobbles seem to be magnified by the grid - because there is nothing else to look at.


I've done plenty of "blocky" quilts and they always look better and more interesting with swirls, free form feathers - anything but stitch in the ditch.

However, that's because I'm looking at my own work. I am definitely not a perfectionist, but I am brutal to myself.

Whoever gets this is very lucky - they have a part of you.

All the best - Chris

Heather G. said...

I love it! I'm a perfectionist too, BUT with quilting I like to see the imperfections - THOUGH I see none with this quilt! I'd love to try this pattern.

Unknown said...

I really like the simplicity of it. Wondering what it would look like with multiple colors that faded into each other.....

Steph said...

It looks great! I can imagine having a picnic on it - on really dry grass, of course. As far as the perfectionist thing, I'm totally with you. To make ourselves feel better, we always say, "A man on a galloping horse won't be able to see it!" haha

Mitzi said...

What a great idea! I love it! I'll be adding this to my list of quilts I want to make one day.

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking this would be cool with blue one way, green the other, then dark teal where they meet. Or, pink and yellow and orange. or alternate colors so it is more of a plaid gingham. Great idea.

PatSloan said...

you have more fun with your ideas than anyone I know! i thought that was printed! the green is perfect too... just saying..

sallgood said...

XOXOXO!!!

Angela {fussycut} said...

oh, I love this! such a fun idea, definitely need to try this one! x

Selfsewn said...

Love the green binding!!

Lindsey said...

I recently finished a quilt using straight lines crossing over in a grid-like patter. I'm a newbie to quilting so I wonder how to do this well... I kept having little puckers where each line crossed the other quilting lines. How do you keep that from happening? Do you just pin the heck out of it? Do you pull it really tight as you're quilting?

Thanks for any advice you can give. I love the look of the straight lines and hope to do it better next time I try!

Here's my blog post about the quilt: http://hearthspace.blogspot.com/2011/05/sand-surf.html

FWD said...

Love the quilt. Not to push my wares (hahaha) but I am featuring gunghams on my site this week. Pop by if you feel like it. I'll be back to check in. Love the work you do.

Terri said...

I read along on your post here, and never in my wildest dreams thought Crazy Mom made this quilt. What happened to the color? You must have used it all up, and this was the only fabric you had left. WOW

Bee said...

Love it! The color combination is something I would have never picked but I always strive for, does that make sense? I love how the colors are unusually perfect together. Good job:)

Vasu said...

looks amazing...i like the colour combination

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Rosabellebyvasu

NancyinSTL said...

This one is a winner! I love this quilt so much that I'm going to be searching for a large sale gingham the next time I go fabric shopping. Your unexpected fabric choices for the backing and binding help make this quilt extra special. I've always loved cheater fabrics, stripes, and gingham in quilts because they make simple patterns look a lot more complex.

Katie said...

I love this one! Love the gray/light gray/white/blue/green...absolutely love it! :) Great work!

Patticakes said...

Gingham, what a brilliant idea! So simple but then again, not. I just love the whole thing!

quirky granola girl said...

the last photo is my favorite. i love gingham and *never* would have imagined it in gray, but then i see the aqua and green peeking and my heart just melts. what a beautiful piece.

April said...

What a great idea for a quilt. I can see it in so many colors. Must put on my to-do list. Hope your boys didn't fight too much over it. ;)

The Calico Cat said...

Dang, I had to read that twice - you PIECED Gingham!

Oh yeah, I am reading CRAZY mom quilts.

PunkiePie (Jen) said...

Love!!!

pratima said...

It is simple yet so striking!Brilliant use of color!!

sarah said...

i'm currently "stealing" this idea for my very own quilt and i have to say:

1) i should never steal an idea from someone who describes themself as crazy.

2) yours looks much much better than mine. much.

i'm hoping that as it all comes together, the little mismatched not quite lined up squares seem less noticeable. we'll see....