...for a few days at least!
When I was in Budapest in March I got a text from my Dad: "Would you mind making some place mats like the ones you made Mum for Christmas for me to give to Debs when I go and visit them in July?" You can find the place mats I made for Mum here. I said "of course".
When I got back from Budapest I actually spoke to him on the phone: "the reason I asked for place mats is because I didn't really have the nerve to ask what I really wanted...."
"Ok - well ask away...."
"Please could you make a double bed quilt instead of place mats?"
Then I hear my Mum in the background: "You can't ask her that. She doesn't have enough time, she can't possibly make a double bed quilt by July".
A challenge, you say?
"Sure," I said.
Now, we are not going to have a Farmer's Wife quilt by the end of June, nor are we going to have a Dear Jane, so I had a look round blog-land for a layout that would reduce the time needed. I put together this Pinterest board and presented it to Dad (who is an engineer) with the following rules: "If I don't like it, we aint doing it"; "If I ask for a decision, the correct answer is never 'I don't mind, Jen, you do what you want' (I don't know the recipient at all - he has to decide)" and; "We work in inches. Not millimeters, not centimeters, inches". Straight away he picked the layout from Gen X Quilters BOM. We've made it a bit bigger to make it double bed sized, but the idea of a lot of space in the middle appealed to him (and me).
Design sorted. Colour. "What colours does she like, Dad?"
"I don't know. Natural colours.", so my Mum tried a different tactic: "what colours does she wear?". The answer: "I don't really know - she wears a lot of scarves..." Useful - last time I checked, "scarf" was not a colour. We looked at some blocks and quilts I've made in the past, and he decided that batiks gave the natural, saturated colours he was looking for. And we planned a cream background to go with them.
We ended up at the patchwork shop in Milton Keynes and spent half an hour playing with different combinations. Until we ended up with this.
Tonight I made a start, and I've found 15 blocks I like, and I'm going to make 2 of each (bearing in mind a final comment from my Dad, "I don't like stars very much"). Here's where I've got to so far.
The question is...what is missing...
Any ideas?....
That's right. The cream background...
Mum was helping me baste my Neon Stained over the weekend and spotted one of the fabrics I'd used. It's a pale yellow Floral Elements from Art Gallery, and we all decided that this would be far far better than cream. And when we put a pale yellow with the batiks in the shop, it was perfect.
Problem is, what with the bank holidays and having to order rather a lot of it I'm still waiting on it. But at least I've made a small start now and I know where I'm going. Turns out the fabric I'm after is called "Custard". The custard I make (from a packet) is NOT this colour!
I really hope Dad likes it when I'm done - and that I get it done in time. And of course that a woman I've never met before absolutely loves it!
And I can prove my Mother wrong :)
When I was in Budapest in March I got a text from my Dad: "Would you mind making some place mats like the ones you made Mum for Christmas for me to give to Debs when I go and visit them in July?" You can find the place mats I made for Mum here. I said "of course".
When I got back from Budapest I actually spoke to him on the phone: "the reason I asked for place mats is because I didn't really have the nerve to ask what I really wanted...."
"Ok - well ask away...."
"Please could you make a double bed quilt instead of place mats?"
Then I hear my Mum in the background: "You can't ask her that. She doesn't have enough time, she can't possibly make a double bed quilt by July".
A challenge, you say?
"Sure," I said.
Now, we are not going to have a Farmer's Wife quilt by the end of June, nor are we going to have a Dear Jane, so I had a look round blog-land for a layout that would reduce the time needed. I put together this Pinterest board and presented it to Dad (who is an engineer) with the following rules: "If I don't like it, we aint doing it"; "If I ask for a decision, the correct answer is never 'I don't mind, Jen, you do what you want' (I don't know the recipient at all - he has to decide)" and; "We work in inches. Not millimeters, not centimeters, inches". Straight away he picked the layout from Gen X Quilters BOM. We've made it a bit bigger to make it double bed sized, but the idea of a lot of space in the middle appealed to him (and me).
Design sorted. Colour. "What colours does she like, Dad?"
"I don't know. Natural colours.", so my Mum tried a different tactic: "what colours does she wear?". The answer: "I don't really know - she wears a lot of scarves..." Useful - last time I checked, "scarf" was not a colour. We looked at some blocks and quilts I've made in the past, and he decided that batiks gave the natural, saturated colours he was looking for. And we planned a cream background to go with them.
We ended up at the patchwork shop in Milton Keynes and spent half an hour playing with different combinations. Until we ended up with this.
Tonight I made a start, and I've found 15 blocks I like, and I'm going to make 2 of each (bearing in mind a final comment from my Dad, "I don't like stars very much"). Here's where I've got to so far.
 |
| February Block from Sisters BOM |
The question is...what is missing...
Any ideas?....
That's right. The cream background...
Mum was helping me baste my Neon Stained over the weekend and spotted one of the fabrics I'd used. It's a pale yellow Floral Elements from Art Gallery, and we all decided that this would be far far better than cream. And when we put a pale yellow with the batiks in the shop, it was perfect.
 |
| Picture from Art Gallery Website |
Problem is, what with the bank holidays and having to order rather a lot of it I'm still waiting on it. But at least I've made a small start now and I know where I'm going. Turns out the fabric I'm after is called "Custard". The custard I make (from a packet) is NOT this colour!
I really hope Dad likes it when I'm done - and that I get it done in time. And of course that a woman I've never met before absolutely loves it!
And I can prove my Mother wrong :)
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