Thursday, August 13, 2020

Peaks and Valleys

Many years ago, before I had my own blog and when I was just getting into quilting, I followed a few other quilt blogs and made mental note of the quilts I'd like to make some day.  This was before Pinterest, so I likely had those sources of inspiration bookmarked in my browser, in some less-than-ideally-organized system of folders and subfolders.  Sort of like my old recipe files where ripped out magazine pages and scribbled cooking instructions were tossed willy-nilly.  

Who am I kidding, I still do that with recipes.  Only now I'm printing them from the internet instead of ripping them out of magazines.  

Anyway, I finally made one of those quilts I'd unofficially bucket listed all those years ago.  The memory of it drifted back into my awareness as I was making an effort to organize the pile of thrifted shirts on a table in the sewing room.  (Hm, sensing a theme?)

Here is the link to the quilt that inspired me way back when.  Lynn called hers "Dragon's Teeth," but the pattern the quilt is based on is called "Lounge Lizards" by Karla Alexander, found in her book Stack a New Deck.  Somehow, in the intervening years, I'd bought two books by Karla Alexander, but not that one.  So first I had to buy the book I needed. 

I'd been using some solid scraps on the interior sides of the masks I was making, so was in and out of the box of solids regularly.  With this new project in mind, I sorted through the solids and put aside the colors I liked that were also big enough pieces to use.  I decided the background shirt plaids would be mostly blue, to give a sense of cohesion to the background and let the colorful peaks take the spotlight.

Sometimes a quilt is limited in size to the fabric one has available.   That was especially true for this quilt, since it was being made during coronavirus lock down.  I wasn't going to be going to a fabric store (or thrift store) anytime soon.  Although, ideally, I would have made a throw size, this ended up to be baby quilt size, which was just fine.

Once I had the blocks made, it was time to play with the layout on the design wall.  I tried three different configurations.

(Option 1)
(Option 2)
(Option 3)
Ultimately, I chose to go with Option 3, alternating columns of upward peaks and downward valleys.  

As I was putting it together, I thought of possible quilt names.  Maybe "Hide and Seek with Gnomes"?  "Plaid Peaks"?  "Peaks and Valleys?"  

When I posted a picture on Facebook, my cousin Juli said she saw "Vests and Pants."  That made me laugh!  (Once you see it, it's hard to un-see!)

I used a piece of fabric for the backing that had been in the stash for a very long time.  I'd originally intended to make a bag with it, but the statute of limitations had run on that idea, so it was fair game for this project.

Overall, I'm very happy with how it turned out, and I could see making a larger one, throw size, in the future.

I had one leftover block, which, after some multicolored wavy vertical line quilting, became a little mug rug.

There were also a bunch of leftover plaid triangles (cutouts from where the solid triangles went).  I sewed these together and then cut randomly shaped triangles from the made fabric.  

I envision a mini-quilt where these little "trees" are appliqued on a background.  Maybe a winter theme of some kind.  Don't you just love inspiring leftovers?

Linking to:  Can I Get A Whoop-Whoop?

12 comments:

The Joyful Quilter said...

Super cute quilt. I have the book that you needed. LOVE her patterns (and your cozy little quilt with its accompanying leftovers!!)

Anonymous said...

This is such a whimsical quilt. Gnomes, vests & pants - I see them both. LOL! It’s happy little quilt. Well done!

Quilting Babcia said...

Vests and Pants! Love it, and perfect name.

Twin Violet said...

Love all 3. Yes trees on white/blue gray background. Snow theme.

audrey said...

This post resonated with me in so many ways! I used to rip recipes and quilt inspiration out of magazines left and right. Now it's printing things off the net or saving it to Pinterest! Your quilt turned out to be wonderful! I really, really love the plaids and bright color mix. The second layout was my personal fave, but then when I read on and how your cousin saw the your final quilt choice, it just made me laugh! So much fun to play with the leftover bits. Often I'm amazed how those little pieces can end up being an even better quilt than the original. Looking forward to what you do with those!

Ramona said...

I see vests and pants, too! What a great quilt. Love your finish.

Deanie said...

Whoop Whoop! Love it!

Vivian said...

Love inspiring leftovers and inspiring quilt stories! What a great finish to a "bucket list quilt". It's always interesting to hear how a project's path winds its way to completion. Any plans (or family "buns in the oven") for the lucky recipient?

Barb Neiwert said...

Great lock-down quilt! My clipping has turned into printing, too! I think it's a disease....

QuiltGranma said...

Charming baby quilt! So hard to find something that would be right for a boy baby, and you've got one!

Paulette said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Paulette said...

Thank you! I'd like to think I might be ahead of the game with this quilt in reserve.