Wyoming seemed to be a quilting honey hole for me in August of 2016! As we moved on from the Devils Tower we passed through the small, quaint city of Lusk. The main street was lined with shops but naturally the one that pulled me in like a magnet was Lickety Stitch Quilts: A Creative Sewing Center . This shop was filled with unique quilting ideas, from the western patterns it is known for, to those for children and adults of all interests.
We browsed through the shop for quite a while and then it happened. I turned around and what did I see??? French roosters! It was a quilt full of the most beautiful roosters you could imagine. My daughter-in-law, Jen, has always loved and collected roosters so I knew this would be perfect for her. Hey, it was a throw so how hard could it be? There was a bundle of all the fabrics I’d need, with the pattern included, for a very reasonable price. Though I knew I could not get it done for Christmas 2016, I decided to buy it for the following year. Armed with my treasure we headed out the door and continued our journey.
In May of this year I remembered the roosters and pulled the kit out to begin working. First stop… buy thread. Off I went to the local quilt store and purchased the thread for this piece and the piece in my last post. I made an awesome discovery too. Quilting thread now comes in spools with variegated colors. Perfect! I bought one in tones to match each of the two projects I was making. Now to get going.
The instructions were great and all went well with the cutting but, my oh my, the piecing was a challenge! I had never worked with triangles and getting all those points to line up was painstaking! Being somewhat of a perfectionist I cannot tell you how many times I ripped and redid! When I attached that last border I was in heaven.
I’m a purist when it comes to actual quilting so, although I piece by machine, I always quilt by hand. Each section, the borders, pieced squares, and the roosters, had its own unique quilting pattern that I traced onto the fabric. It took time but was well worth the effort.
Now I could relax, quilt, and enjoy the rest of the project. Hand quilting makes me slow down and gives me time to think, dream and breathe as I work through a project. It also gives me time to watch my favorite shows like Outlander, Poldark, and Call the Midwife without guilt. Hey, my hands are busy and so is my brain, right?
I finished the quilt in late November and gave it to Jen this Christmas. I had never really considered whether it would fit in with her décor but it did! Perfectly.
Next: Christmas 2017 Part 3: Button, Button… Who’s Got the Button?
LucyCrafter 