Becky's Quilt

Things are rolling along with this whole blog thing, don't ya think?  I'm figuring out all sorts of stuff as I go along... ya know... how to add a link and where the shift key is.  Sometimes, I even spell a word correctly.

Today, I thought that I'd talk about a quilt that I built last year for my daughter.  She's pretty wonderful.  If there's a soft spot in my grouchy heart, I think she found it.  They say that that's what daughters do.  I guess they're sneaky like that.  I'm not really sure how they do it.

Becky and the Muffalettas

Maybe it's that cute little fake pout that they do.  Seriously, who could resist that?  Oi vey, she's going to bankrupt me.  When I saw the ultrasound of her in the womb, I knew that I was doomed.





One day she says to me, "Daddy, would you take me to Washington, D.C.?"

After a full millisecond delay, I said, "Of course, honey." 

Soooooo.... next thing ya know, I'm on an airplane...

I'm such a sap.



The Lincoln Memorial

The White House

Van Gogh Self Portrait
 National Gallery of Art

Mount Vernon
(Home of George Washington)

The Capitol Rotunda



Arlington National Cemetery

But enough of that...

By this point in my quilting "career," I was starting to think about design.  In particular, I was beginning to think about design as it related to individual people.  I was thinking about what I knew about a person's likes and dislikes, but also about what might be meaningful to them.

I hadn't quite gotten to meaningful by this point, but it was looming vaguely on the horizon.  One reason for this was that I was still in the throes of technical matters.  I still didn't know as much about sewing as I needed to know.  So, from a design viewpoint, I was still a bit distracted.

Becky's Quilt Inspiration

Right about this time, I was surfing along looking at quilt pictures and I happened to see something that caught my eye.  When I saw it, I knew that I should build something like it and give it to Becky (if you haven't guessed, my daughter's name is Becky).  It just seemed to be the right thing for her.

It also appealed to me for technical reasons.  There were lots of points that had to be done just right for it to work, and I was learning that points are important.

Becky likes geometric shapes and she loves black and white, so it seemed like a perfect fit to me.

I went to my LQS (somewhere along the way, I learned that "LQS" is quilters short hand for Local Quilt Shop) and I asked Katie (the LQS owner) to help me pick some fabric.

I'll tell you more about Katie and her shop, A Nimble Thimble, at some point.  I'm very thankful for all the help she's given me.


I ended up with a white typeprint on white background and a black smudge fabric.  I liked them both very much, but, I have to say that my fiance' didn't care much for the smudge fabric.  She's usually right about things, but, in this matter, she was very wrong.  (Sorry dear, I just can't always agree with you, even though it's in my best interest to do so.)

Here's the top before I added the border.  I was proud of the points.  Thank you again, Mr. Elmer.

As I began to consider the border, I knew that I wanted it to be black, but I thought that it needed an accent color. 

I didn't want it to be white since there was so much white already in it. 

I choose yellow because it's the brightest color that I could think of. 

Not exactly rocket surgery. 

Definitely no color wheels involved.  I didn't even know what a color wheel was.

I mitered the corners so the yellow stripe would make a square.











I quilted it myself on my Bernina 830.  Of course, I showed it off to my Modern Quilt Group.  What can I say, I am learning to enjoy showing off the things that I make.



















I think that Becky likes the quilt.  She's scheduled to be married within the year, though, so her motives for being nice to me are currently suspect.  I anticipate the best relationship that I've ever had with her from now until she gets all the money she needs to pay for her wedding.

It's awful to know that you're being played and think it's wonderful.

That's what having a daughter is like.

Enter your e-mail address at the top or bottom of the page so you can follow along with each new post.  Now that she's about to leave, I'm going to be lonesome.  Feel sorry for me yet?

You should.

TheCurmudgeon