quiltlicious

Dinosaurs might have walked the earth millions of years ago, but they seem mythical, at least to my boys. They asked me to make them dinosaur quilts many times, so I went for it once we found fabric they liked (see the center panel below):

I had never used panels before this quilt.  As a guide, I referred to “Fuji afternoon” by Toby Liscenko, which was published in xxxx magazine, (date).  Making a quilt with a panel for the center is easy, but you have to keep a couple things in mind: 1) Press, press, press, 2)  Keep adding borders until you achieve the size you want, and 3) If the panel is not proportional to the bed size you are trying to make, add fatter borders until you get the size you want.

The top came together quickly, so soon I was putting together the back. I saw xxx pattern in xxx magazine, by xxx person.  With all the leftover reptile skin and plant life batiks, I thought that they would be a perfect match for the pattern. I wanted an untamed” look to go along with the dinosaurs on the front.  I used velum to help me paper piece the diamond shaped blocks.  As you can see, the blocks were not perfectly executed (they weren’t meant to be…) and the effect was a wild, tribal look for the quilt back.

The alternate block was simply a rail fence block – I used strips that were not exactly straight, nor  were they the same width along their length.  This kept the feral theme going , until I ran short on fabric.  I ended up having to wait until I went to the Santa Clara IQF, where I found the dinosaur skeletons!  the perfect border, considering the border on the top was dinosaurs of the same size (except with skin!)

After making a back large enough for the quilt top, I had to quilt it! Most of the effort was put toward quilting to emphasize the designs on the top, including the dinosaurs, and the fabrics in the borders.  The quilt gave me the chance to try out some free motion techniques that I found online on Leah Day’s free motion quilting website.  I ended up with some seriously cool leaves and dinosaur skin motifs!

The quilting took a very long time, as I was secretly working on it when the boys were at school. The one thing I learned while making this quilt is that it is very hard to quilt when the backing is pieced, especially when pieced every 2 inches or less!  I will not make that mistake again.  In fact, if I can afford it, I will order “Fat Backs” so I won’t have any seams on the back! Broke a lot of needles!

By the time I finished, my older son had moved on to other interests, but my youngest thought it was the coolest thing ever! The quilt went immediately on to his bed, and it has been there ever since!

Front of Quilt:

December 1, 2012.


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