I'm pretty excited to have this quilt done days before my deadline of the end of the month! I made this quilt for the father of one of the Granite Mountain Hotshots that died in the Prescott, AZ fires in June of this year.
I don't follow the news or media much--we don't have a tv and for the most part I don't care to know about the atrocities that are going on in the world. And I hate how the worst things are repeated over and over, and the good things only last a day.
But I do hear about things sometimes. I heard about the 19 wildland firefighters on a news segment on the radio while driving somewhere. It hit pretty close to home--my dad has been a city firefighters for something like 30 years, and I have a couple of friends that are firefighters too. I was filled with sadness for these firefighters, and their friends and families. But I couldn't deal with it past that news report I heard.
And then one day, I think in July, my friend Jessica at
Quilty Habit mentioned making a quilt for one of those firefighter's family members.
Layers of Hope was coordinating quilters with family members to make a quilt for. So I signed up, in the middle of the chaos of packing up my home and all quilting things, I volunteered to make a quilt and have it finished by the end of August. She is still looking for more volunteers to make quilts for those families, btw.
I thought of the firefighters and their families and friends a lot during this quilt, and couldn't help but feel that this might not mean anything to it's recipient. But it could also mean a lot--and I hope it at least will act as a token of all the people that have mourned in some way, and have a hard time showing support when it is most needed. And hopefully it will remind the repient that the lives of those firefighters touched more people than they know.
I chose
Tula Pink's Field Study quilt pattern for the large, simple blocks, and chose fabrics entirely from my stash. The white birdy fabric is from IKEA's 2012 fabric collection, the dark brown is Kona Chestnut (such a lovely color!), the light brown is a faux bois from Joann's, and the greens were hand-me-down fabrics from various people. The back is a sheet I found at a thrift store and matched so well!
This is the smallest pattern option, which finished at 46" x 57" (the pattern says 60" x 48" but after quilting and trimming it to square--which took quite a bit off those bottom points--it lost a few inches). I really enjoy making this size of quilt--there is not wrestling it through the machine! The blocks come together SO fast, and it was fun to quilt feathers up and down the chevron rows.
For the quilting I used Aurifil 50wt #2887 for the feathers and #2605 to mark the chevrons. I love using this thread--I have never had any tension issues with and it quilts beautifully. And my experience with it continues to justify the expense.
I tried out a bunch of areas in the backyard for taking pictures, and once I get my design wall up it will hopefully be a good spot too.
 |
Getting my little helper's stamp of approval! |
My first quilty finish at the new house, hurray!