Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Finished Quilt : Kindergarten Flowers

I finished in time to wash and crinkle the quilt for Becket's teacher!

He said "flowers", so I looked through my flickr favorites and pins to find something fun to make.  I changed my mind a bunch of times and then came across the Stems quilt by Fig Tree Quilts.  I got all excited and started pulling fabrics for a quilt inspired by it.

Kindergarten Flowers

I was a bit delusional - as you may recall I started this just a week and a half before the last day of school.  But it got done.

Here's what I was thinking:  ooooh, I can pull about 10 reds and 10 blues, cut w.o.f. strips - sew them in pairs - chop - add some stitch and flip white - chop - stems - done. 

Quick and Fun!

Kindergarten Flowers

Pulling all those reds and blues WAS fun.  But as I was finishing up my strips and making pairs I realized that if I wanted to keep all my points, I really needed to add the white triangles before joining them up.  So chop, chop, chop I made stacks of 60 small red strips and 60 blue....then paired them up - luckily realizing that I wanted to keep each flower the same from one side of the stem to the other.

It was lots of fun arranging them on the floor though, planning the rows of flowers, once the halves were all done.

The biggest challenge that I had failed to consider was those six long columns of petals.  I am a HUGE fan of squaring up.  I usually adjust any and all patterns so that I can make a block a tad larger, then press and trim into a perfect square.

Kindergarten Flowers

To keep my points and also to keep each half perfectly lined up on each side of the stem from top to bottom, I had to sew very carefully, instead of relying on squaring up.  Plus, I have some weird issue with drifting along long rows.  So I had to be super careful.

Way Stressful when you have a deadline!

Wish I enjoyed that whole process more.  This quilt is so cute I would like to make it in other color combinations. 

Kindergarten Flowers

On the up side, I had cut more 2.5" red and blue strips than I needed for the petals.  So I pulled what I had left together and created a scrappy binding.  I love how that worked out.

Kindergarten Flowers

I went with a stipple for the quilting.  It was some good, zen time after all that careful piecing.

Kindergarten Flowers

Becket had chosen four of his favorite flower prints for the back, so it's just pieced in large blocks.

But I wanted to show the label/thank you I like to add to the back of my gift quilts. 

Normally I write everything out with a ceramic pencil, this time I actually used the Frixion pen.  It was perfect!  It writes so nicely, and any mistakes could be ironed off.  I traced over the writing with a sharpie and then set the sharpie/erased the Fixation with a pass of the iron.  

Kindergarten Flowers

Becket had to snuggle up in it at least once before handing it over.

Giving the quilt

He was excited to give the quilt to his teacher.  Although, he had been coloring that morning and had marker all over his fingers, along with bits of BLUE frosting from cupcakes.

I was a tad nervous about Becket touching the white quilt.

1st Grader Now

Those blue cupcakes were for the Kindergarten Angel ceremony yesterday.  So sweet.

with kenton

He's a first grader now!

27 comments:

Stephanie said...

Wow what a great pattern!! I bet she was thrilled, who wouldn't be!!

Aunt Spicy said...

that is just amazing! I totally love the pattern and thte colors and everything about this quilt!

Marian-Lady Face said...

What a lovely gift, the scrappy binding is a wonderful choice. So pretty!

CitricSugar said...

Beautiful job! What a cool kid for thinking of that...

Leslie said...

he is so adorable....and that quilt came out so perfectly.

Melanie said...

Congrats to the first grader! What a cutie! What a thoughtful gift for a teacher! I'm sure she'll treasure it.

Elizabeth Dackson said...

Good for you, finishing up! I think it looks great and I especially love the scrappy binding! I cannot believe the school year is reaching a close already, I feel like it was August just a few days ago!

Katie B said...

This is the sweetest! You're so kind to make this for the teacher. I love the design and the fabrics. Beautiful work!

Luke starts kindergarten in the fall...maybe I should go ahead and start a teacher quilt now! :)

Kate said...

That quilt is amaze-balls! I need one. Right after I get done with every other project on my to-sew list...So cute!

KendasCrafts said...

looks great! what a wonderful teacher gift!

A.J. Dub. (Amy) said...

It turned out fantastic! What a nice gift.

Purple Quilter Queen said...

Congrats on a great guilt and Becket moving onto 1st grade! The quilt is adorable and love the color combination you went with. Hope you have a great Summer with the boys! Jenn

Rene' said...

Beautiful quilt!!!! Love the pattern with those reds and blues. Cute angel shirts too.

leigh said...

wow! that WAS a lot of work! nice job - as always :)

Karen said...

Awesome quilt Angela! I love how crisp it looks and the pop of the colors on the flowers. I'm also very jealous of your stippling abilities! :)

quirky granola girl said...

what a lucky teacher! you put a bunch of really pretty prints in that quilt.

QuiltNut Creations said...

super cute quilt!

Dandelion Quilts said...

What a lovely present. She will cherish it always.

Dresden Quilter said...

The quilt is gorgeous. Thank you for all the helpful tips. The teacher is very lucky.

www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com said...

this is a great quilt

Kati from Kati's Quilting said...

I love your quilt, it looks very pretty! She's one lucky lady receiving a present like that!

Janine said...

I love your quilt! What a lovely gift. That's one lucky teacher!

pinsandneedles said...

Love your quilt and such a lovely gift. The colors are fabulous! Thanks for sharing.

Kristy QP said...

Gorgeous quilt! Love this design. What a thoughtful gift for the teacher!

Lisa said...

It is beautiful! Teachers deserve the best!

Reene@Nellie's Niceties said...

Wow! That is one lucky teacher!

Kelli said...

I also made a quilt for my son's kindergarten teacher this year! I love yours! It's such a great color palette and looks so fun! Great job.