H is for Hillary

It had been on my list for a while to make a little something for my friend, Hillary. As thoughtful as they get, over the last few years unexpected little handmades have arrived from her.... a special pincushion, a tablet case, a handmade card which somehow led to a quilt named "Debbie". Imagine that!



So though I debated for ages what to make, I knew the fabrics needed to be a bit unique. At guild meeting one night, I nabbed a bright and shiny scrap of jacquard, which isn't really something I can say I've incorporated into my work before. It came to me that I should pair it with something truly re-purposed, and headed to my closet, where I found a lightweight denim shirt that didn't work for me anymore.



As for a design? I had so enjoyed the technique incorporated into my QuiltCon projects, Home Away from Home and Nine of Ten, that I was itching to do it again, and how perfect it felt to use the letter "H". It was a natural. So I made a bunch of blocks of various sizes, with my only rule being no ruler. To bring the blocks all together, I added in a blue/black crossweave with a similar hand to that denim, and it added a nice contrast.



A bonus to using the denim shirt was its detailing. I incorporated the sleeve panels with the buttons right off, but it wasn't till the top was complete that I realized it might be cool to incorporate the tabs too. Once I thought of it, I just couldn't resist.



Quilting was as improvisational as the piecing, done with my walking foot and Aurifil 50wt #1158 [medium grey]. It seemed right to leave the jacquard unquilted, so that made the path a bit circuitous, but such is life sometimes, right?



I finished the little quilt (17" x 22") off with a faced binding and called it a day.

So Hillary received the little quilt yesterday, and it made me happy to surprise her. It also felt good to finally show my appreciation in the one way I know best.