Day 3 – Trip Around the World

December 3  - Camouflage Trip Around the World

(Click to enlarge pictures)

1995-96 – Made for my son Jeremy for his 16th birthday.  He picked a Jacob’s Ladder pattern, but I realized the pattern would be difficult for me to execute in camo fabric (and a lot more trouble than I was ready for), so I did this instead.  I used the tube method of piecing the rows and it sure made this easier for a beginner.  Since I was teaching school at the time, it took me about 7 months to do this,  I think about 2 months to piece and 5 months to hand quilt.  I used one of the full-quilt floor frames and we walked around that thing for a L-O-N-G time before it was rolled up small enough to not cause issues in the living room.

I used poly high-loft batting, and I designed the acorn and oak leaf pattern quilted into the border. 

Lesson learned… camo fabrics can be tough to hand-quilt!  I bought some of every camo fabric I could find (and pickings were slim, as this was BEFORE camo became the fashionable thing to wear) and as many coordinating solids as I could get.  Some of these camo fabrics are not the weight and texture of regular fabric and that made hand-quilting very difficult.  I was using a size 7 between needle… (same lady that told me to use the high-loft batting gave this advice).  That looks like a TOOTHPICK compared to the size 10 – 11 needles I used on the last hand-quilted ones!  The stitches aren’t tiny, but they are better than those in the Log Cabin.

This quilt is really enjoyed by men at shows… I’ve had several offers to buy it…  NOT FOR SALE!!  There will most likely NOT be any more hand-quilted quilts made by me, so this one is an heirloom, for sure.  Besides… Jeremy loves it and would never part with it!

Tomorrow’s quilt teaser… you will really be able to see an improvement in skills!  Promise!

Kat