I finished Niece #2's coming-of-age quilt, officially titled Unquiet Dreams, back in early December, but thought it polite to hold off showing it here until Herself got a chance to see it. She's had it for a few weeks now, so now it's ready for public inspection.
In terms of design (which I wrote about here) I think it's about as close to unique as you can get with parallel strips at this point in the history of quilting. In terms of construction, it's a mitigated disaster. You can tell that I had terrible problems with cutting on the bias and in getting my geometries lined up properly, and that great bowing in the lower left-hand corner would cost me my quilting license among some serious practitioners of The Craft. The mitigation is that it was intended and received as a quilt for use; it is (despite its look and title) pretty soft and snuggly, with a very cozy flannel back. A very cozy, cherry-red flannel back.
Along with the color palette, the quilting was to Niece #2's specs. I used my own "doodle" style of free-motion machine quilting, which with a seam-spacing of a little under half an inch renders a very comfortable texture. That the quilting is in the form of a single uninterrupted line of extreme convolution and length is also an invitation to the obsessive-compulsive in all of us.
The Specs
Serial Number: 58
Dimensions: 61" x 92", with unfortunate deformations.
Batting: Purpose made medium-loft, 50% cotton, 50% bamboo fiber.
Backing: Red mottled flannel.
Begun: September, 2010
Begun: September, 2010
Finished: December, 2010
Intended Use/Display: Gift.
So. Much. AWESOME! It's amazing, very true to your original plan, and it's just stunning how the angled red stripes play against the black and white.
ReplyDeleteI see no unmitigated disaster in the construction...It's absolutely wonderful.
Wow. Unfortunate deformations? Looks intentional to me, part of the art. Lucky niece #2!
ReplyDeleteyes, i really. really. love this. and i love all its contrasts & contradictions: cozy & pointy. red & black. white & black. straight & winding. outrageously confined.
ReplyDeleteand one single line to bind it all together? hells yeah! nicely done, sir! nicely done.