Friday, August 24, 2012

Our Little Guy....

This may be a long post -- forewarned is forearmed!
This cute little fellow is our only grandchild who we went visit in Canada earlier this month.  While we were there, we were able to give him his gifts for his second birthday as well as his birthday quilt.  How much fun is that!
This was made following the directions in Tonya Ricucci's book, Word Play Quilts, and referencing some of her blog posts.  I have to say this was absolutely one of the "funnest" quilts I've made.  You really only need a ruler to square your blocks once you learn to cut generous strips.  I finally learned to make the outside background strips big enough to be able to square up the blocks and still allow for a seam allowance.  Blocks were not made to a specific size...I just started laying them out and if I needed to make one a bit bigger -- I added a strip of a complementing color.  Did I mention this was fun?
I will say that I never quite got my "N's" exactly right.  As you can see here -- the lower case "n" is pretty good here -- the upper case is not.  In some cases, the lower case "n" looks like it's backward because of my cutting angle.  In that case, I made sure the "f" was clearly lower case to make sure it was "alphabetically" correct.  :-)
In order to have a bit more fun with the back, I ordered five FQs from Spoonflower.  What a great business model.  I won't go into a lot of detail here but if you don't know about them, it's worth hearing their story and seeing what they offer.  I was able to scan their database and order the FQ in science-related fabrics (periodic table, DNA, elements, flame test, and molecules).  These were not for little Finn.  They were really in honor of his parents who are both microbiologists.
I wasn't able to get to Chicago to quilt this so I had to suffer through with some great variegated Valdani thread!  I didn't want a lot of quilting as the words are the stars so it went fast and holds it together.  Definitely not anything fancy.
As you might imagine, custom printed fabric is not cheap so I had to "make do" on the back and maximize the science fabrics!  You've actually seen the back through the pieced wool batting in this post.
As a bonus, since I had to fussy cut the periodic table so it was whole, I was able to salvage almost a complete one (roman numerals are missing at the top in case you aren't a chemist) and create a mug rug for our son.

I will definitely make another quilt with letters -- maybe all Christmas words?  Or family names?  Or friends' names?  I'm not sure but I have lots of wonderful solids and scraps and they will need a home one of these days.

When I look at finished quilts in the past year or so, this seems like a great quilt to enter in Amy's Creative Side and her semi-annual Bloggers Quilt Festival.  It meets all the criteria (it's actually quilted -- I have way too many tops that need attention) and I'll put it in the baby section.  If you have never spent any time looking through her festival, you are in for a treat.  Check out some of the best of the best of the blogging world!

I hope you are working on your "funnest" quilt.  If you're not -- check out Tonya's book and see if this might not be just the ticket for learning something new and creating a one-of-a-kind quilt!

Jan



44 comments:

Dora, the Quilter said...

Definitely a very fun quilt.
I do like the capital N's too.

FabricFascination said...

I don't think I've had my funnest quilt yet. Something to look forward to. Your grandson's quilt is great!

Glen QuiltSwissy said...

What Grandma luck, all those Ns in his name! LOL. But you did beautifully.

I, too, love Tonya's stuff. Maybe we need a Word Quilt project group!

glen

Nina Marie said...

I love Finn's quilt - what a great idea!!

Gari in AL said...

What I love is that you love the quilt and have loved making it. I think the back for the parents is perfect.

Lynn F said...

I love the idea of using Spoonflower fat quarters on the back for that personal touch. Wonderful!

Rabid Quilter from California said...

VERY cute!! I have this book and really want to make a "word" quilt! I'm a big fan of Spoonflower. They have a fat 1/4 calendar competition at the end of every year and order several to use as part of the backs of my quilts as a 'label'. Then there's no question as to what year they were made!

Vicki W said...

That is a really cool quilt!

Kate said...

What a fabulous quilt! I love everything about it! You've definitely inspired me to give Tonya's letters a try. Thank you for posting to Judy's DWM so I could find you!

Judy in Michigan said...

What a great idea for a child's quilt. I made a block for Tonya's book (LAFF) and have enjoyed making letters every chance I get. You gave me a great idea for my granddaughter's next quilt!! Fortunately, her name has 4 letters!! Yippee!! Finn and his parents must be over the moon with that quilt!!!!!

scraphappy said...

Super fun quilt! Letters are so much fun though that you will be dreaming about ways to work them into SO many quilts. Love the periodic table fabric. I ordered the big version from Spoonflower, but have yet to turn it into a periodic table.

Etcetorize said...

What a fun idea. Kids always love seeing their name over and over like that. Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing at Etcetorize this week~

Jill said...

Another amazing quilt! So nice to have such a personalised one! I'm going to check out this Spoonflower now - sounds very interesting!!!


Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
Hope you have a fabulous week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

Tonya Ricucci said...

Congrats, this is such a fun wonderful quilt!!!! wooohoo, love love love love it. fabulous. who cares about the Ns everyone knows what it says - Finn finn finn finn!

Unknown said...

I LOVE the periodic table fabric. My son is a science geek (majoring in engineering) and would LOVE this. THANKS THANKS THANKS for sharing!

Heidi said...

I think that's the best kid's quilt I've ever seen.... How wonderful !!!

Lisa said...

I love this, it is why I quilt for those I love!

Cathy said...

Just awesome!

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

What a wonderful quilt and isn't it neat that you can create your own fabric at Spoonflower! Thanks for sharing.
Freemotion at the River Linky Party Tuesday

Sue Daurio said...

There's no mistaking who's quilt that is!! It's just wonderful. And the periodic table is awesome.

Adorned From Above said...

Amazing work. This is great. I have a link party on Wednesdays, and I would love it if you would link this and any other posts. It is called Wednesdays Adorned From Above Link Party. It runs from Wednesday to Sundays.
http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2012/08/free-bee-sweet-hat-pattern-crocheted.html
I hope to see you there. I am your newest follower, and I would love for your to follow me also. Have a great Day.
Debi Bolocofsky
Adorned From Above
www.adornedfromabove.com

Anonymous said...

This is so awesome! What a fantastic gift!

Mina said...

This may be the funnest quilt I have ever seen :)

Unknown said...

This is an awesome quilt. Wow! Thanks for linking up at Doodles & Stitches!

Melissa Corry said...

This quilt is so adorable!!! I love it!! What a wonderful keepsake!!! And I love the Periodic Table mug rug :) So cute!!!

Rebecca Lynne said...

Thanks for linking to Thursday Think Tank. Man! Even my husband walked by and said "that Finn quilt probably took a ton of work" <-- does he know his quilts or what? Ha! I've got him well trained. I do love that quilt, and it was obviously made with a lot of love...

Nancy said...

Great quilt. I love Tonya's book.
My next project is a quilt for my new Granddaughter.
Something with words.

Pattilou said...

A very personalized quilt! Love it! (and I'm sure it will be loved too!)

Tami Von Zalez said...

I so admire quilters - a craft I never mastered.

Popped in from WSP.

thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com

Ariane said...

This quilt is wonderful!!! I love it!!!

Nicole said...

That's a great quilt! I hope he enjoyed visiting out here!

Be Colorful Coastal said...

This is so spectacular. Love the fun colors and the fonts. I wanted to let you know that I featured your post this week on BeColorful
PR

Sarah Craig said...

What a wonderful quilt!! Very bright and colorful, and no question who it belongs to! Whoop whoop!!

Anonymous said...

Awww. Inspiration for the daughter microbiologst!!

And Finn's quilt is brilliant!! I LOVE it! What a fabulous idea. And I was trying to remember the name of that book. I am going to go put it in a shopping cart right now!!

Adorned From Above said...

You did such a beautiful job on this. I have quilted before, and this is a lot of work. Thank you so much for sharing with Wednesdays Adorned From Above Link Party last week. This weeks Link Party is opened at
http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2012/09/simple-anti-aging-moisturizer-and.html
from Wednesday until Sunday.
Hope to see you there.
Debi Bolocofsky
Adorned From Above
www.adornedfromabove.com

CitricSugar said...

Lovely quilt! That top of head looks familiar... His parents aren't named Jody and Neil, by any chance?

Milly said...

I love your quilt. I have tonia's book but so far have only made one block using her method...

Krysta said...

This quilt caught my eye immediately...I have a two year old named Finn! I'm sure all my boys would love a quilt with their names all over it. What a great idea!

Aoife said...

Love all of the colours you chose to put his name in and on! And the periodic table fabric is a great idea for the back. The quilting doesn't distract at all but adds a lovely texture :)

Live a Colorful Life said...

What a fabulous quilt! Love all the colors and the Spoonflower fabric on the back!

Sharon said...

What a fun quilt! Finn will really remember how to spell his name, when the time comes! LOL I think your win the "Best Grandma" award with this quilt! Love the Spoonflower fabric on the back too. Must check them out.

Tonya's letters are really quite addictive. You'll be thinking of all kinds of ways to use them!

Oh, and my granddaughters' name are very long - they will not be getting one of these quilts! hahaha. I made their name once and made a wallhanging for each of them. *grin*

sarah elizabeth :: {no} hats said...

I may be a little biased (our nephew goes by the same name) but this is so very sweet!!!

Valerie the Pumpkin Patch Quilter said...

This is awesome and SO creative!

Unknown said...

Great contrast! What funn for finn!!!