I finished my brother in law's quilt this afternoon, and I'm pretty pleased with the result.
You know, having a nine year old wild thing means that everybody is always trying to get us to put him in Boy Scouts, and my reply is always "We are not campy people; we are beachy people," which seems to placate them for a while.
And that's really the truth. I grew up in a very girly family (love my makeup and hair dryer), and although my Dad is an Eagle Scout, we never camped- thankfully because my Mom feels the same way I do. Now, give me a beach chair, some sunscreen and a book, and that's the kind of outdoors I can get behind!
I can certainly appreciate the woodland environment for a couple of hours- maybe a day hike at the very most. But when it comes right down to it, I want a nice bed, a restroom, and a shower. That's just me, y'all. And before you get aggravated with me and tell me that I'm depriving wild thing of something he might enjoy- trust me, I'm not. He likes his comforts too (and he hates bugs).
Suffice it to say that making a quilt for my brother in law, who is the ultimate outdoorsman, was way out of my comfort zone. Anytime I make a quilt that isn't really my own personal taste, I tend to second guess myself at every turn, and I'm usually not totally happy until the last stitch is in the binding.
The pattern I chose is called
Four Squared by Aunt Polly's Porch for Moda Bakeshop. I used the pattern as an inspiration for the quilt without actually following it. I am terrible at following patterns. Luckily, I can usually look at a quilt and just know how to create it, and how to modify it to fit my fabric and size requirements. This pattern is not too fussy, and gives the fabrics a little bit of a more modern twist. The frame fabric is Kona Chocolate. I just love that shade of brown.
I went with solid Mossy Oak camouflage on the back, so that this quilt could be flipped over and really used while hunting for a little extra warmth. I chose to quilt with stippling, as I thought it would blend the best with the camouflage on the back in case it actually needs to be called into camouflage action.
Oh, who am I kidding here? You all know it's my favorite kind of quilting and I do it almost all of the time anyway!
Rather than using Kona White for the label, I used Kona Parchment, which blended a little better.
You can see the quilting better in this picture (the obligatory rolled quilt shot), and I have to say that this is really some of the best FMQ I think I've ever done. I've been working on spacing and keeping my curves smooth, and I'm happy with how it turned out. Glad the quilting shows on the front, at least!
I hope my brother in law loves it, and I certainly think it's a little more fitting for him than
his bunny quilt. :) One more Christmas gift done. Whoop!
