Showing posts with label diy quilting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diy quilting. Show all posts

Sunday, January 1, 2012

DIY: Back to Blogging!

 The above photo was taken this past July when I finished quilting a chevron pattern that I used to cover an ottoman.
Hi, there. I know, it's been a while. A year or three. But I've got the urge to start blogging again. I've really missed it, mostly because I like the idea of documenting what I'm doing. I don't keep a diary or a sketchbook so this is the closest thing I've got to remembering what I've been up to. I've got a terrible memory (which I seriously attribute to the consumption of too many Diet Cokes. It's the devil's nectar, people) and I'm pretty lazy so I'm hoping this will hold me accountable. And keep me off the streets.
I used this very easy chevron pattern found here...http://www.quilterscache.com/C/ChevronBlock.htmlI picked up the 4" foam from JoAnn's and a wooden board and legs purchased at Lowe's as the base.
 Over the summer, I decided to recover my homemade ottoman with a chevron pattern. I found this insanely easy pattern online (please don't let the cheesy outdated website fool you) and whipped this bad boy up. Maybe it's just me, but I'm still happy when I see it. Especially now that we've moved a couch into the room and it makes for a pretty awesome footstool. So I got it in my head that I could quilt. Me. Quilt. Haha, I'm so delusional.
Image from that dangerous temptress of a store that goes by the name http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/index.jsp. Has anyone hit their sales lately? I went on Black Friday, and as a buddy of mine said "I absolutely lost all sense of reason." 50% off sale items? Then, yes, I do need a feather and shell encrusted clutch in the shape of a hedgehog.
 Being the quilting expert that I am, I decided that I could quilt the incredible Navajo-meets-Chevron pattern as seen on the above anthro rug. Without a pattern. Or any idea how to make it happen. And with 1" squares. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I was planning on covering another ottoman. One that just happens to be 80" in length. Yeah. So I got this far...
And I just had to stop. Because I was becoming homocidal. I was working with linen because it's so stinking pretty but not a great quilting fabric. The weave in linen is big and tends to unravel easily. And I'm the worst at math so, as you can see, my edges just weren't matching up. I did more seam ripping and cursing than I did sewing. Finally a voice of reason (ahem, hubs) told me that maybe I should reconsider.

And so I have. What I love so much about the chevron pattern is the optical illusion effect. A tumbling blocks pattern has an even stronger effect so I've decided to give it a shot. I actually am going to sketch this one out as the pattern is difficult for my little brain. And I'm going to dedicate some of my blog posts to the making of it to hopefully hold myself accountable. Wish me luck!
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