Monday, August 15, 2011

A tale of two trees

My friend asked me to make two twin-size quilts for her daughters's room. She remembered this mini I made, and asked for quilts like that--just bigger. I used this tutorial from Allison of Cluck Cluck Sew as the basis for the mini, but making it twin-size required some figuring.

Tree quilts
You'll have to use your imagination a little--when these are on twin-size beds, the tree will be on top of the mattress, with the white borders hanging off the sides. The top can be folded down so you can see the backing fabric.

Tree quilt solo2
We used a cream Moda Bella solid for the background. You can't really tell here, but the tree trunk is a fun print from Sanctuary. The leaves--all scraps and a few samples that my friend gave me. I appliquéd the leaves and did an all-over stippling (in cream).



A few process notes--this was a challenge for me, and there was definitely some making it up figuring it out as I went along. (Thanks to Elizabeth, Emily, and Angela for advice!) That's the good thing about making two--I was really able to refine my process the second time around. For the first tree, I prepared the quilt sandwich, then cut out the leaves and appliquéd them and quilted it at the same time. This led to some (expected) wrangling. I wasn't thinking I'd have room for quilting between the leaves, so I thought the appliqué would double as quilting. It ended up being more wrangling than I was interested in (and I was able to quilt between the leaves) so on #2 I appliquéd the leaves first, then basted and quilted. Much easier.

I didn't want any raw edges, so I used this appliqué method. Then I attached the leaves to the quilt using Heat N Bond Lite before stitching them down with invisible thread (as suggested by Linz!). I sewed around the perimeter of each leaf and a "vein" down the middle.


My friend chose these great Kumari Garden prints for the backing. Have you seen this line? I hadn't before this project. Love it.


Both quilts were bound using Kona Chartreuse.

Overall, I think they turned out pretty well! I'm glad to add these to my dunzo list.

(if you're wondering why I keep saying "dunzo," blame Tom Haverford. I'm not using it correctly, but I don't care, because Aziz Ansari is the funniest man on TV.)



14 comments:

lindsey & lewis said...

LOVE THEM!! And when we get them on the beds I will send a photo for a little post-project update. Thanks so much!!!

Elizabeth Dackson said...

They look so fabulous, Katie!!! So huge! I bet you're so relieved to have finished these. Love that print you used for the trunks, that is a ton of fun!

Toni said...

Completely, entirely awesome! Did you dance a little when you finally got them done?? The backing fabric is beautiful. You did such a good job!

felicity said...

I love these a lot. SO MUCH. Fabulous.

Linz said...

You're right. He is the funniest man on tv...

Anyway - I just LOVE how these turned out! I have been so excited to see them! I love them!! WAy to go!

Ann Marie @ 16 Muddy Feet said...

Wonderful little trees!

Emily said...

These turned out awesome!! :) Great work!

Angela Nash said...

Those must look so cool on the beds! Awesome finish x2.

KendasCrafts said...

those are really pretty! And yes, Aziz Ansari is hilarious!

Dresden Lane said...

Ohmygosh- I just discovered Parks and Rec and Tom is my favorite too! Chicky chicky parm!

Kristie said...

These look awesome. It reminds me of the "fun" I also had with my tree quilt.....glad mine is dunzo as well ;)

Kirsten said...

Gorgeous quilts, and I really love the backing print!

Lee said...

Did you see the Parks and Rec where Tom talked about the different names he has for everything? My husband and I always call eggs "pre-birds" now. LOL.

The quilts are BEAUTIFUL, BTW.

Angie said...

I just LOVE these tree quilts!! Totally awesome! :D