I made a quilt! with fishes.
First, thanks so much for all the smart, thoughtful responses to my last post. In addition to the great comments, I’ve gotten a flurry of lovely emails from LYS owners and employees, and from more experienced designers who were generous enough to share their wisdom. And they’ve all reaffirmed for me that we need to continue to have some serious conversations about copyright, licensing, and use.
In crafty news, my dear friend Michael turned 30 in February, and I went to Minneapolis for the party (a riot grrrl-themed queer dance party, which, yes please — I broke out my homemade L7 shirt for the occasion).
Michael has been a really excellent friend for a lot of years, and was an excellent roommate for some of them, too. We’ve been through some Real Shit together. So, in honor of his awesomeness, I made my first Real Quilt for the occasion.
I bought a pattern, but was itching to get started before it arrived. So, foolishly, I looked at a finished quilt and figured out what kinds of squares it used, then made those kinds of squares. NOTE TO SELF: NEXT TIME, WAIT FOR THE PATTERN — it has much quicker, smarter, more efficient instructions for how to cut and piece this thing.
After I pieced the top together, I took an embarrassingly long time to just sit back and admire it, and force others to admire it (friends, visitors, the mail carrier). I used a lot of different fabrics, including manymany scraps from my stash, and some excellent jelly rolls I bought from Starlit Nest. But most of the squares include Heather Ross Mendocino fabrics that I’ve collected here and there, which feature sea creatures, merpeople, and fish. AND THEY ARE SO FREAKING CUTE.
merpeople!
fishies! and squiddies!
polka dots!
I’d planned to quilt the thing with plain straight lines, as I had done with the few teensy quilt-like things I’d made before. But someone I live with (who’s never sewn a stitch in his life) suggested that I quilt it in a wave pattern, and I couldn’t get that idea out of my head.
So I did a bit of reading about free motion machine quilting, hit up my more experienced quilter friends for advice, made up some little quilt sandwiches, and practiced for about 30 minutes before I started in on the quilt itself.
And I think the waves turned out okay!
Just add a handmade label (with a little embroidered lobster, obvs)
And it’s done! The whole thing is a good width for a full size bed, but a bit short. If I had it to do over, I’d add another row of squares along the top or bottom edge.
Aaaaand here’s the finished thing, awkwardly displayed on my crooked front porch.
Happy Birthday, Michael!
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May 9th, 2009 at 9:44 am
love it, love it, love it! Your tag is especially great. Wonderful work!
May 9th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Oh my goodness! This definitely is THE most awesome quilt that I have ever seen. You are amazing, and I am sure that Michael will love it dearly.
May 9th, 2009 at 9:54 am
That is super awesome fantastic!
May 9th, 2009 at 10:12 am
That is so many levels of awesome.
May 9th, 2009 at 10:12 am
This quilt, more than any other quilt I have ever seen, has made me want to stop all other crafting and learn to quilt post haste! and embroider! AWESOME.
May 9th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Oh wow. This is the most amazing quilt I’ve seen in a long time. I love Heather Ross fabric, and I’ve got some of the pink colorway sitting in the stash. Congratulations on a stellar FO!
May 9th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Holy Horse!
That is great! Kinda makes me want to start quilting.
May 9th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Wow! The quilt is beautiful. What a love-filled gift!
May 9th, 2009 at 11:16 am
wow - that’s an amazing quilt. I love the colours you’ve used (I’ll keep that colour combo in mind for some future project :-))
May 9th, 2009 at 11:17 am
That is the awesome-st quilt I have ever seen! I love the orange-turquoise-brown combination, the waves, and the label!
May 9th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Awesome! You should make one for your Mom!!
oxoxox
May 9th, 2009 at 11:35 am
It’s so great. I just made my first quilt too. Yours is much more impressive.
May 9th, 2009 at 11:39 am
I love this quilt, Pam! You did a great job with it. I’m pretty impressed that you did free-motion quilting with your first one, too
I wish I had bought some of that fish fabric when it was available; it’s so cute!
It was nice to finally meet you last weekend!
May 9th, 2009 at 11:50 am
buh-yootiful!
May 9th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Wow Pam you did a great job on this quilt! I makes me want to make one. I guess I should get a sewing machine! Michael is a lucky guy for getting such a wonderful present!
May 9th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Terrific! Michael will love it (if he doesn’t already)!
Those mermaid fabrics are amazing (I’ve got some myself)!
May 9th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
It’s beautiful! And has totally weakened my resolve not to order fabric this week
I love the handmade tag! I wanted to add one to my first quilt, too.
May 9th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Wow. Very nice. I have a collection of the same fabric, but have yet to make anything from it. Your quilting is very well done! I love the way it looks on the back. And the tag is perfect.
May 9th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Oh my gah. I luuuuurve this with all my heart. Clearly my fabric stash is not comprehensive enough, I need to get me some merpeople.
May 9th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Super awesome, Pamela! I want to start quilting soon, but right now I’ve got a pileup of other projects to work on, so I’m putting it off.
And a great 30th birthday present. I too, love the embroidered lobster tag. Did you embroider the words, too, or write/have them printed?
May 9th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
OMG Your quilt is so incredibly amazing….I loves it! I just got a yard of the octopus print to make a shirt for my sea-loving son!
May 9th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
That is the most beautiful quilt I’ve ever seen. I LOVE the blue-brown-orange tones, and the mermaid fabric is brilliant.
May 9th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
de-lurking to say that your quilt is f-ing gorgeous!
makes me want to try quilting - any suggestions for where to start?
May 9th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
The execution of this here quilt is amazing. It’s cohesive and whimsical and gorgeous. Lucky owner!!!
May 9th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Wow! That is completely amazing! Thanks so much for sharing with us!
May 9th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
This. Totally. Rocks.
I wanted to write it with caps but the graphic designer in me realized it wouldn´t look nice. But that´s how enthusiastic I am about this quilt! Congratulations!
May 9th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Two words…MAD SKILLZ
May 9th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
So very impressive. I love this Heather Ross line and can’t get enough of it. You’ve done a great job putting it together. Love the lobster
May 9th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
WOW. I love every detail of this quilt, from the fabrics to the awesome color combination to the wave stitching to the little embroidered lobster. You rock.
May 9th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
That is terrific. The waves totally make the quilt.
May 9th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
It’s wonderful. I love the colours.
May 10th, 2009 at 1:33 am
Ok, so the colours make this great, the wave quilting makes this stunning, but the lobster? The lobster makes this the shiznet! Please can I be you when I grow up?
May 10th, 2009 at 2:11 am
That is so cute! And the wave stitching is just killing me. Lovely.
May 10th, 2009 at 6:11 am
Oh my Lordy Pam, what a winning present. Those polka dots kicks the whole thing into overdrive:)
May 10th, 2009 at 7:34 am
you never fail to be anything less than awesome. i love michael’s quilt.
May 10th, 2009 at 8:54 am
This quilt is AMAZING. You are an outstanding friend. My favorite part is the darling label.
May 10th, 2009 at 8:54 am
I have seen many a quilt post in my blog reading days, but this one has actually sent me over the edge–I think I may want to learn how to quilt. You’ve done an amazing job. Out of curiosity, did you embroider the lobster yourself, or do you have one of those sewing machines that you can program patterns into and it does it for you?
May 10th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Whhhhhhhoooooaaaaa.
I agree with the comment above. Holy freaking moly.
May 10th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
That quilt is awesome!!
May 10th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
What a gorgeous quilt! Thanks so much for posting about it
May 10th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
i love it! and i especially love the waves. they’re prefect.
May 10th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
it’s AMAZING!!!!!!! i adore ur fabric choices
hahaha @ riotgrrrrrrl party theme (were the invitations lil photocopied ‘zines?)
May 10th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
An enthusiastic ‘thumbs up’!
May 11th, 2009 at 1:58 am
I’ve never commented on a quilt before, being a staunch sock knitter, but this is so lovely, so quirky, so… marine, what a gift! Now I, along with everyone else remotely crafty who sees this wonderful thing, want to make quilts.
May 11th, 2009 at 4:41 am
YAYYAYYAYYAYYAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 11th, 2009 at 4:41 am
it really is such an awesome quilt. and you totally inspired me to finish the one I’d been working on when you posted these pics.
May 11th, 2009 at 6:25 am
AMAZING!
Lucky, lucky Michael! Happy b-day!!
May 11th, 2009 at 8:12 am
what a fantastic quilt! i think the waves look awesome!
May 11th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Absolutely gorgeous. The colors, the subject… perfection.
Jealous (1)
May 11th, 2009 at 11:45 am
That is so wicked cool - love the colours and the ocean theme. The wave stitching is very impressive.
May 11th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Amazing! So great to see it again!
May 11th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
That’s amazing! I remember seeing it on your Flickr stream and being so impressed.
May 11th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
You are totally right. That fabric is supercute! What a great gift!
May 11th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
I absolutely LOVE your quilt, and I think the waves were a great touch
May 11th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Love your quilt especially the label. It’s totally thourough. A wonderful quilt through and through.
May 12th, 2009 at 7:04 am
This quilt is so awesome! You’ve caused me to want to go dig out my sewing machine from my dad’s basement and set off in search of neat material.
May 13th, 2009 at 11:55 am
love the quilt and the fabrics are awesome! but… no shots of the homemade L7 shirt? denied!
May 13th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
I haz no quilting skillz. I am in awe of this thing. It’s beautiful!
May 14th, 2009 at 10:12 am
wow, what an amazing quilt. the waves are a cool touch. what a fabulous gift.
May 15th, 2009 at 9:54 am
I got a little bit of happy just looking at that quilt, and I needed that. Thanks!
May 16th, 2009 at 8:08 am
WOW, It’s an amazing quilt. I think that the octopus are my favorite! Plus the purple with the teal is super cool! Now I wana make a quilt, great another hobby.
May 16th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Holy freaking awesome!
May 21st, 2009 at 10:14 am
Dear Pamela,
first of all, you are an immensely talented woman - no doubt about it. I know a little bit about quilting myself and your color sense is so damn pleasing - we could start there and go on and on … but what I’d REALLY like to speak with you about is your ‘February Lady’. Would you mind terribly if I emailed you?
best wishes,
Jody
May 22nd, 2009 at 4:49 am
WOW! Gorgeous!
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:55 am
Oh my!
Now I need to learn how to quilt… I can’t stop staring!
The merpeople and fish are so so so so so darling!
May 27th, 2009 at 8:23 am
Loooooooooooooooooooove your quilt. Amazing colors!
May 27th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Pam, this is awesome! I love the waves and how they vary. I can’t believe it’s your first quilt. You’re a natural.
May 27th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Simply amazing and best gift giver ever. I know nothing about quilt making and just spent the last couple of hours googling “how to make a quilt”. Truly inspirational FO. Absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!
May 28th, 2009 at 7:24 am
Finally de-lurking - LOVE this quilt SO much…I have been wanting to make a quilt for my bed but I’ve never made a big quilt like that (just little squares). This is inspiring me. I’m sure my husband will be really excited if I pick up another hobby….
May 28th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
oh my gosh. that quilt is AMAZING. i love the wave stitch, it’s so cute. well done, i bet he loved it (how could he not!!)
June 2nd, 2009 at 11:27 am
So frikkin’ inspiring. Honest, I could stare at that quilt for hours. Michael is one very, very lucky friend!
June 3rd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
B E A U T I F U L
And inspiring!
June 5th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Wow. I’m coming out of hiding to say that your quilt is ridiculous. I’m impressed that you were able to part with it! Lucky Michael!
June 6th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
What a great quilt! LOVE it! Love all the fun prints you found and the colors rock. Not to mention the ‘wave’ stitch on the back - you got mad quilt skills
June 16th, 2009 at 5:26 am
This is so beautiful that I can’t get it out of my mind. I’ve ordered the pattern which is yet to arrive and now I think I’ve found the right fabrics and need to order like now :)! Did the pattern mention the minimum/optimal number of different fabrics? I’m thinking of using 8-9 different fabrics. Thanks.
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:42 am
i love your haint blue porch ceiling. Very beautiful quilt. I am a beginner, so it inspires me!
June 28th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
I love, love, love it. Belated love. But love none-the-less.
July 3rd, 2009 at 3:11 am
Damn! I wish I was Michael. I hope he cried. I would have cried. I’m crying now. It is the most beautiful present in the whole world.
July 7th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Just wanted to tell you that this quilt is amazing! I love the way you used waves for stitching, and the “aquatic” fabric is too cute. Very impressive, I’m sure Michael loved it.
July 9th, 2009 at 11:02 am
holy crap, thas beautiful!
July 22nd, 2009 at 6:02 am
This is utterly divine. I LOVE quilts that rely on superb colour and pattern rather than kookily jammed up shapes. It is just superb and I am green with envy that it does not live in my house! Well done. Beautiful.
July 27th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I love the turquoise and orange combinations you’ve used here, just delicious! The fortunate Michael. The very fortunate Michael.
Vanessa xxx (do you mind if i knit)
August 13th, 2009 at 11:42 am
that quilt is so great! SO GREAT! Wow. I want one. I want to quilt. I can barely sew on a button though right now so a lot of practice will be required. Maybe someday.
August 14th, 2009 at 9:44 am
This is just beautiful. So impressive for a first quilt! I love the wave quilting, it adds so much interest to the back.
September 3rd, 2009 at 11:54 am
first time here.
love(1)
November 2nd, 2009 at 1:38 pm
WAUW!!!! WAUW!!!! Amazing! Beautiful. He is so lucky!
November 9th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
I’m still in complete awe of this brilliant, brilliant gift. xxx
Best 30th birthday present ever!
September 15th, 2010 at 11:22 pm
Wow! This quilt is positively amazing! I love it. I really like the wave pattern. =) VERY nice touch.