Saturday, May 26, 2012

Man Quilt...
...that's not so man-ish anymore.


This quilt (#6 for me) began with a charm pack of batiks I received with a mug rug swap.  They were ugly and I couldn't re gift them because I didn't want anyone to think I'd actually choose that charm pack.  They sat around for a long time.  I finally decided they would work into an ugly "man quilt".

So I got started on a design idea.  I'm sure it was triggered by something I've seen somewhere.  This was back last November.


Then the holidays came and other sewing commitments took over.  Finally in April it surfaced again.  And I found that I was actually enjoying sewing this quilt top.  It didn't look as ugly as I thought it would.  Probably because the ugly fabric pieces are only 2" square.


Soon it was ready to sandwich.


I love when a quilt top is ready to sandwich.  The three layers together is when it changes from pieced fabric to a quilt.  I love to hug it after pin basting it just to feel all my hard work as a "quilt".  The design wasn't hard, but those corners of all the blocks match up really well because I worked hard to do my best to make sure they would all match up.

I moved along to my favorite straight line quilting. 


I couldn't be more pleased with the way the quilting looks with this simple design.


I just can't imagine sending a quilt top out to be quilted.  There is just no better feeling than sewing a quilt from start to finish.

Time for binding...


I wondered if I would ever bind a quilt with the same fabric as the design background rather than a contrasting piece.  Sure enough, this one called for a binding that didn't frame the design. 

 And in the end, I love the quilt!  It doesn't look strictly man-ish. 


It's definitely non gender specific.

I still have lots of pieces of this "ugly" charm pack left over.  Who knows what it'll turn into...we'll see.

Quilt #7 is on the wall and it's calling me to come play.  It's a rather interesting concept that I'm having a fun time with, so off I go to play!
Annie

24 comments:

Rachel said...

Annie, it might be genderless, but it is firmly on the side of absolutely beautiful!!

sheila 77 said...

Another masterpiece from the House of Freezeframe. I love its simplicity (which only comes with a lot of hard work). I wonder if any ugly fabric could turn into beautiful fabric if cut into small enough pieces, although I don't think these batiks are ugly at all. A beautiful quilt.

carol said...

I'm "with" the first poster! Definitely on the side of beautiful! Wow! And soooooo big! You have more strength than me, that's for sure. I wouldn't even attempt to quilt one that big. Bravo to you!!!

Cindy Sharp said...

I love the picture in front of the orchard....it makes the little "ugly" blocks look like trees.

Well done!

Barb said...

Your quilt is simply fabulous!!!

Anonymous said...

That is totally awesome! I love when something comes together that you have no clue about. No uglies here!!

Ramona said...

Framing the nine blocks definately gave the quilt some movement and visual interest. Another winner!

evelyn said...

It is gorgeous. Ugly fabric? Sometimes the sum is greater than the total of the parts!

MariQuilts said...

Love, love this quilt!!

Judy D in WA said...

FAB U LOUS!!!

I'm still looking for the uglies. Where did you say they were???

Grammasheri said...

Ooh! Make ME an "ugly" quilt like this, wouldja?
Seriously, this is a beautiful quilt, calming to look at and enjoy. Amazing? Yes, you are!

Snoodles said...

Fantastic finish, Annie, you rocked that ugly charm pack! LOL Really do like how this turned out - great job. Are the "dashes" or bars of color around the edge pieces of the charms? Really striking - better than a solid border would have been, in my opinion! Thanks for showing this!

Karen said...

Annie! I adore this quilt so! It is so great how you mixed in those 'ugly' fabrics! The soothing light colors are perfect as is the disappearing binding...wow. Send it my way :D

Mrs.Pickles said...

lovely quilt!

Sparky said...

a man quilt, a kit quilt a lady quilt...it is an all over delightful quilt...well done and thanks for inspiring us all

Cynthia said...

This turned out great! Love the dashed border! You are better than me...I would've tossed the ugly fabric in my donation box so fast! Good for you for making something great out of it!

Katherine said...

It turned out beautiful, Annie! I love how the random framed blocks add movement to the overall design and the border is pretty fab too.

Carol said...

I love it! You should be proud!
Carol

waggonswest said...

What a great quilt. Definitely not girly.

Lesley said...

I love this quilt! It is quite stunning, and all I see is beauty...even the tiny little pieces! Thanks for taking us on your journey with this wonderful quilt.

sewyouquilt2 said...

who you calling ugly? this quilt is gorgeous! great job!

pinsandneedles said...

Is this the ugly ducking that turned into the beautiful swan! Yep I believe so.
I too love to do the whole quilt from start to finish. I love to bind the quilt and always stitched by hand. Such satisfaction!

lov2quilt said...

Just found your blog, love this quilt, it is simple and simply beautiful. The blooming dresden is also just delightful. You are really tempting this "traditional" to go "modern" in a big way. Thanks

Christine S said...

Very, very nice!