Quilted Northern

So I mentioned in passing a few posts ago that I have been working on a quilt, and I actually wasn't kidding. Basically, I have no idea how to make a traditional quilt, I don't own a sewing machine, I don't have any special tools, and I've never even googled "quilting". I just kind of made it up as I went along. So this post is not meant to be instructive, it's just that Dodo and Kleine saw me working on this thing over Christmas, so I thought they might be interested even if no one else was.

I first tried to make a quilt in 2006 out of clothing that my friend and I were planning to throw out/donate. I don't have photographic evidence of the first quilt I made, because I gave it to my friend, but as far as I know it is still in existence and has not completely fallen apart.

So when Sparks decided to donate a bunch of clothing last summer, I decided to try to see if I could make another quilt. I then proceeded to pull out about half of her donation pile, which is kind of evil, but I was very unemployed and bored. My first quilt was inspired by a mural of a tree in Northampton, but it took a while  to find something that inspired me for this quilt. Even though I pulled out the clothing I wanted to use last summer, I didn't have any good ideas about what I wanted the quilt to look like until we went to the Head of the Charles last October.

 


Hello, inspiration.

 
I sketched a couple of things out and went from there. I hand stitched everything with an average needle and thread, and I used an old duvet cover as the backing. I bought some quilt "batting" and a some yarn (about $40 total). I started actually sewing the front image last November, and just finished everything last night (I think that comes out to about six months of work).

I didn't really think of trying to document making the quilt until about January when Sparks wanted me to send her some pictures, but I am going to post what I've got. I apologize for the pictures in this post, they were all taken on my camera phone...so they are less than epic.

I used a needle, thread, old clothing, scissors, and safety pins to make the front image:



About half the way done piecing together the front image.
Safety pins where I need to attach new pieces of fabric.

 

Still not quite done with the front image.

You can see the duvet backing up at the top and near the house.



Then I sewed the front image onto the old duvet cover, and safety pinned some quilt batting between the front image and the back.





Done with the front image, and it has been attached to the duvet.
To find out why there is a cat in this picture see this post.


I used green, blue, and white yarn and a yarn needle to tuft. I stitched the yarn through the quilt about every inch.
 

About halfway done "tufting" with yarn.

 

Done sewing the yarn through

Boat detail.

After I sewed the yarn through the quilt, I needed to tie each stitch into a knot.



This is the back with the knots tied, but not trimmed.



Then I washed the quilt and trimmed the yarn stiches.



The back after the quilt had been washed and the stiches trimmed.



And, voila! Finished product.



All the tufting complete





Quilt in its natural habitat.


I know this is a long post, but it took me a long time to make this quilt. I promise I will stop tooting my own horn soon. Also, I know that this thing probably looks a little wonky to anyone who actually quilts, but it seems to be working out okay, in spite of its quirks...



Sparks approves!


xoxo
zuzu