Saturday, May 23, 2015

Tiger Stripes Finished

In the Just in Time inventory management system, products are made as demand requires. Usually my quilts finish shortly before the event... sometimes very shortly. My quilting style mimics modern business management! Who knew?

Free-hand cut strips of purple and gold create a rail fence variation in this quilt.
Tiger Stripes quilt for an LSU grad

I sewed the binding the evening before we left and buried threads on the way. And so it goes.

My son is quite accustomed to my odd sense of humor. He mentioned two college chants, "Hold that tiger" and "Geaux Tigers", that are now quilted into the rails.

Purple and gold fabrics in a rail fence design.
Tiger Stripes, detail showing
"Hold that tiger" quilted in cursive.

After pin basting, I used my walking foot to quilt close to the seam lines on both the purple and gold sides with 50-wt Gutermann thread. Two more lines were quilted in each purple rail. I alternated rows of a phrase with simple lines on the gold rails. His name, university and date were quilted with a small free-motion zigzag at the end of one of the rows. My name is on another rail.

Purple and gold fabrics in a rail fence pattern.
Tiger Stripes, detail showing
"Geaux Tigers" quilted in cursive.

I bound it by machine using a double-fold binding cut 2.25". The binding was sewed on the back with a 3/8" seam then pressed, folded over the front, and topstitched close to the fold. This method works well for quilts that will get lots of wear.

Here's the previous post about Tiger Stripes.

We saw a new exhibit at the airport: Life and Style in the Age of Art Deco. Fortunately we had time to study everything, including these colorful paper fans.

Fans from Europe and USA

Look at the heels on these shoes by Beauty Co.

Black and gold shoes from Shanghai by Beauty Co.

Geometrically patterned electric appliances by Royal Rochester were my favorite display. Pluggable pieces include a coffee percolator, samovar, and waffle iron. Wouldn't they look lovely at the breakfast table? And the food would stay hot. Beauty and usefulness perfectly combined.

Royal Rochester electric appliances
in porcelain and chrome.

Speaking of breakfast, we enjoyed one at Brennan's. I had a cup of seafood gumbo to start. It might not be breakfast for most of you, but oh, how I've missed it.

Brennan's bar, New Orleans

You can find quilt patterns everywhere. This is the tile in the women's room.

Tile at Brennan's

Then we walked around the French Quarter. Off the main thoroughfares, the streets were empty and clean. I guess we were up too early for most people.

Painted facades in New Orleans French Quarter

This was one of the small fountains in the area.

Lion fountain in New Orleans French Quarter

In the afternoon we drove to Baton Rouge for graduation... and quilt presentations.

Enjoy the day, Ann

22 comments:

Quiltdivajulie said...

Wonderful quilting details with the names and phrases . . . great post (and congrats to the graduate!).

Ann said...

Thanks, Julie. Quilting words adds another dimension to the quilt. I need to do this more often. We are so pleased he finished... and has a job. Hooray!

Susan said...

Oh, the picture doesn't do this quilt justice! It is so pretty with the purples and yellows. Lucky grad!

Ann said...

Thanks, Susan. That's kind of you to write. He likes this quilt a lot. He's worked hard these past few years; it's so special to see him grow up to such a good man. I feel like I'm the lucky one.

Anonymous said...

... Wow! love the words incorporated into your Quilting ... just wonderful ... and that shading in the Quilt too is something to behold. I must say I adore those fans, are they not just beautiful? I love fans and use a number of them during our summer months here in Queensland xxx Simone

Laura said...

Thanks for the pictures! Your son will love his quilt. Thanks also for the link to the star cutting. Betsy Ross must have been better at spatial relations than me. I'd have to google to remember how to do it.

We went to New Orleans in July over 25 years ago and stayed in the French Quarter. I remember the seafood gumbo. You can't get gumbo that good here, but I keep looking.

Ann said...

Thanks, Simone. I remember using fans as a child. My grandmother had several. How I loved snapping them open and closed. If we didn't do that during services, we could take them to church. Oh, I'd be so good during the summers!

Ann said...

Thanks, Lara. I have great spatial visualization (at least I used to) but this pattern never makes it past long-term memory. Thank goodness my fifth grade teacher loved Betsy. I remembered the story and Googled it. Voila. But I'll be sunk if the internet fails.
I make gumbo at home but never as good as New Orleans. I'll skip the desserts, just bring a second helping of seafood. ;-)

Kaja said...

This has turned out beautifully. I love how quilting always adds an extra dimension, somehow pulls a quilt together (even if we thought it looked done before the quilting started) and your work here has worked perfectly. I too love the idea of sneaking text into a quilt somewhere - must try it.

Lara B. said...

Tiger Stripes finished up beautifully Ann. I especially love the quilted words you added! I bet your son got a big kick out of that.
You airport has the best displays... how fun to look at things lie that while waiting for flights. I had a chuckle over you having seafood for breakfast. My family did a lot of Scandinavian cookery and fish was normal breakfast fare for them.

Ann said...

Thanks, Kaja. Quilting words was lots of fun. My son tells funny stories about friends who notice them for the first time. All his quilts are big hits in Baton Rouge.

Ann said...

Thanks, Lara. Great way to practice cursive writing. ;-) SFO does have the best displays. Other airports have one small exhibit but this is the first I've seen with so many. What is lutefisk, Mrs. Scandinavia?

Cathy said...

Oh...another fun quilt. I like your touch of "odd humor"! A quilt a son will cherish forever - personalized for him. Sweet! Oh, and thanks for some art deco pics. I love art nouveau and art deco and I just love those fans and would love to have those dishes! But I wouldn't be able to walk in those shoes. Sigh. I'm clumsy when elevated!

Ann said...

Thanks, Cathy. It's always nice to know (a few) people appreciate my humor. The heels on those shoes remind me of turned legs on an end table. Stylish but not comfortable nor easy to walk in. Give me my hiking boots or Tevas, please.

Allison said...

Thanks for this interesting post! What a wonderful gift to give to your son for graduation - stitching names and phrases intot he quilt is such a lovely idea. Those floor tiles are amazing - I wonder how many people notice them?

cjhaab said...

Nice quilt! I recently made a quilt with this type of pattern and it was really fun to make. Your son should be proud and grateful for such a nice gift.

Ann said...

Thanks, Allison. We had a memorable trip. I'm not sure how many people really notice the floor tiles but I felt like a real weirdo taking photos in the ladies room. I had to wait until everyone left. Very clandestine!

Ann said...

This is a fun, relaxing style, isn't it. I'd love to see your quilt. Is it on your blog?
One of the nicest treats about raising my children is that they all love and use the quilts I make them. They are so proud of them they show them to their friends! We need more quilt appreciators.

Lorna McMahon said...

Beautiful finish, Ann! Love the creative quilting and all those little messages incorporated into the design. Your son is one lucky Tiger!

Ann said...

You are so funny, Lorna! Quilting this was easier than I thought - probably because it got so interesting to figure out what to put where.

Carie @ Space for the Butterflies said...

Oh what a special cold! I love that it has your names and the chants included in the quilting, it's like a wonderful secret message!

Ann said...

What a fun way to look at the writing, Carie. Almost anything we can do to personalize quilts and draw the recipient/viewer in helps, doesn't it.