Thursday, October 22, 2015

Lobster Boat Quilt for a Special Person

Guess who's going to be a grandmother?

Lobster Boat quilt

How happy am I? VERY!

No names announced yet so we are calling him Little Tex.

Surely such avid sailors would want a sailboat quilt. Wrong-o. She Who Wore White wants a lobster boat. Fortunately she sent several photos. I got busy sketching different ideas. When finalized, templates are drafted by overlaying tissue paper. Sometimes I draft in reverse; other times I turn the tracing paper over after drawing because the freezer paper templates are always the opposite direction.

Lobster boat sketches and pattern.

Do you see those small cities of houses in the sketches? Thank goodness I came to my senses before piecing. The bottom two photos show the templates. I kept the gentle curve along the top of the hull because it will be easy to piece. But I did add a very small triangle on the front of the boat to make a pseudo-curve. It could have been been drawn as a curve, too.

Next I pulled fabrics that might work. Way more than I finally used but it all came from my stash.

Fabric possibilities for the lobster boat quilt

Fairly confident in my choices for the ocean and the boat's hull, I pieced those sections first. The bold red and white striped fabric adds emphasis (several boats had a band of color on the hull) but I especially liked the way the yellow and text fabric creates boards.

The lighter blue and white print and the dotted blue mimic reflections of the boat on water. Originally I planned to piece the lobster buoy from several small pieces. Then I found a Balinese wax print that worked excellently - a yellow teardrop on dark blue.

Piecing the lobster boat quilt

The blue fabrics get lighter with distance. Careful template placement on the blue and white stripe makes perfect shorelines and sandbars. How lucky is that? That's (my version of) the Brewster Island lighthouse in the distance.

Piecing the center of the lobster boat quilt

Throughout construction I was dreaming up more ways to personalize this quilt. So the trio of houses in the foreground are the school colors of parents and uncles. (In fact, that same yellow is in the Tiger Stripes Rail Fence.) To ensure no one else could claim them, each is labeled with the respective name in Metler Poly Sheen neon yellow or orange. More about writing in this post. None of these colors showed up well on the yellow house so I used dark purple cotton thread on it. Then I christened the boat with the grand-dog's name and added a Texas flag because he would always fly it.

Details of the lobster boat quilt

There were sailboats, fish, and lobster prints begging to be used but they never worked in the body of this quilt. I worked them into the border.

I intended to improvisationally piece the back from the scraps (honest) but these fabrics dropped next to each other. Now he will always be wrapped in the loving arms of Texas... and me.

Texas flag on the back of the Lobster Boat quilt.

Those directions for five-pointed stars came in handy again.

Lots of free motion quilting: still water, waves, stone houses, windshield, boards, and more. Even with all that quilting, it's still soft and cuddly once it was washed.

Quilting details from the back of the Lobster Boat quilt.

Quilt Details
Size: 50"(H) x 51"(W)
Pattern: Original design
Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100% cotton
Thread: Metler and Auriful 50/2 cotton sewing threads, Metler Poly Sheen
Quilting: Free motion quilting


The next Ad Hoc Improv Quilters Linkup begins the Tuesday, October 27.

Enjoy the day, Ann

50 comments:

Glen QuiltSwissy said...

This is so beautiful! Such a treasure for the new baby! What a finish.

glen

Mystic Quilter said...

Oh congratulations Ann!!! The lobster boat quilt is just wonderful - how thrilled the proud parents to be must be to have this all ready for the new baby. I bet you're counting down the days to his arrival, we have six grandchildren and it's just a delight to be grandma and grandad - you will have many,many hours of happiness together.

Cathy said...

Woooohoooo! Congrats! What a way to wrap Little Tex in love. Excellent job. I'm really impressed!

Ann said...

Thanks, Glen. It was what the mother wanted and great fun to figure out.

Ann said...

Thanks, Maureen. Six grandchildren! Wow. That would be fun; all (fairly) close in age. I'm looking forward to grandparenting.

Ann said...

Thanks, Cathy. Texas has a good flag. Several states incorporate the state seal or tiny details in their flags. Just glad I didn't have to do that.

Monica said...

This is just wonderful, Ann! I love the stripes in the water, and the fun border prints. You really captured the scene with just a few well-chosen fabrics. Great job! And, how big is it?

Ann said...

Thanks, Monica. The fabrics worked well, didn't they? I do enjoy using those big picture prints. Thanks for the reminder about the size. I edited the post. It's almost square at 50x51", a bit big for a baby quilt but should work for a toddler.

Sue said...

Congratulations, Ann, on the pending new arrival! We're still waiting for that event...as patiently as we can. Your quilt is a tour de force, from stem to stern. It is so unique, personal and beautlful, I am sure it will be long treasured by the generations to come. Nice work!

Ann said...

Thanks, Sue. I'm excited and the parents are over the moon. It certainly was fun to create. I hope the grandson enjoys it as much as his parents and I do.

Katie Cogswell said...

Wow! This is amazing! So many lovely details. Stunning!

Julie Bagamary said...

wow!

JanineMarie said...

Love. This. Quilt. What a special gift for your grandson-to-be! Thanks for sharing all the details--in fabric/construction as well as personal touches--with lots of pictures. As I was reading, I thought, "This should go into the festival." So glad you entered it. And congrats on your new role--being a Gramma is the greatest!

Quilting Babcia said...

Fabulous! Thanks for sharing your process. Alway something new to learn.

Janet said...

Lovely! Fantastic! Thanks for showing your process.

Ann said...

Thanks, Katie. It was amusing to add the details.

Ann said...

Thanks for the comment, Julie.

Ann said...

You are so kind, JanineMarie. It's more fun to read the details than simply look at a photo, isn't it. I'm looking forward to my new name and role!

Ann said...

Thanks for writing. I enjoy reading how others approach quiltmaking, too.

Ann said...

Thanks for the lovely comment, Janet. The process is what we want to learn, isn't it.

QuiltSue said...

What a clever quilt.

Lara B. said...

First... Congratulations Ann - that is some very happy news! We're expecting our first grandchild too so I know you really are as thrilled as the silly and crazy people in that video - Love it!

Secondly... I am blown away by this amazing quilt! Ann, I can't say enough good things about it! I'm in love with it and will be staring at it for quite awhile! Thank you for showing some of your process and how you created it!

Ann said...

Thanks for the compliment, Sue.

Angie in SoCal said...

A remarkable, creative, original quilt. I love everything about it! You have my vote.

Ann said...

I remember your announcement! Such a joyous time. That video is such hoot - the Fiddler on the Roof trombonist, the kaleidoscopic shots like old chorus line movies, and the words. So funny. My daughter will be delighted we live across the country.
I had fun making this quilt. I don't applique like you so this is as good as it gets. We're all quilters reading these blogs so of course, we want to know how. I hope I showed enough. Let me know.

Ann said...

Thanks for the compliments. It will always be unique with that Texas flag on back of an east coast lobster boat. :-)

Mel said...

Its a fabulous quilt design--so many fun fabrics, texture and fantastic quilting!!

Ann said...

Thanks, Mel.

LA Paylor said...

when this opened in my email I let it sit for a while, knowing I needed time to really look at the details. Good idea as I like it start to finish, and it's just grand that's what it is, just grand! The fabric choices, the content and composition, the method description, the quilting. All superb. I am going to send it to my list group to come and have a look, you know Annapolis people love boats. LeeAnna

Jen said...

This quilt is beautiful. It first reminded me very much of Maine. My grandmother, Charlotte Arne swam the Boston Light as a teenager. We still have her trophy as the first woman to complete the swim.

Janie said...

Thanks for sharing, I also appreciate your style and 'method description', I agree 'grand' is the word!

Stephie said...

Congratulations Ann, for a new grandson and such an amazing quilt! I'm in total awe...just how?!?! I mean, I know you showed us how, but still, just how?!?! Totally fabulous - I'm smiling from ear to ear, as I'm sure your daughter will be too! x

Ann said...

What a lovely compliment, LeeAnna - that you wanted to take time to absorb it all. BTW, I didn't know Annapolis people love boats; I thought it was soft shelled crab. ;-)

Ann said...

What a wonderful family story and treasure. Charlotte must have been an amazing woman.

Ann said...

Thanks for writing, Janie. I'm delighted so many quilters like reading method descriptions, too.

Ann said...

How very kind of you, Stephie. If you seriously want more information, look at the daisy quilt. It was my first post and then I wrote a few more. You are so artistic, youcould certainly do this.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Grandma....and WOW...what a fabulous quilt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hugs~

Ann said...

Thanks, Cathy. I'm thrilled to join the Grandmother League!

Leanne Parsons said...

Wow! That is so gorgeous! So many beautiful details, and such beautiful use of the fabrics. It really is a stunning work of art.

Kaja said...

Congratulations Ann - what fantastic news!!! This lovely, personal quilt seems like a great way to celebrate.

Monica said...

Oh, you see, bigger than I thought too. Scale is so hard to judge on the internet. That is a nice size, I'm sure it will be well loved!

CityHouseStudio said...

What a gorgeous quilt! I loved reading about the design process, and seeing all of the "in progress" photos. WOW!

Ann said...

I'm so glad you like it. Thanks for writing, Leanne.

Ann said...

I'm so thrilled for the parents and for myself. It's very exciting.

Ann said...

I'm glad you like it and enjoy reading about processes as much as I do. Thanks for writing.

Jennifer said...

This is really stunning! Thank you for sharing. Love it.

Ann said...

You're right about judging scale. As a geologist, we always put our hammer or Brunton in the photo for scale. I think we should put the cutting ruler next to quilts.

Ann said...

Thanks so much, Jennifer. It was a joy to create. Now it's on another coast so I'm glad to have photos.

Kat said...

Gorgeous! What a great idea for a baby quilt, and lovely job putting it all together.

Ann said...

Thanks, Kat. The mother had such a unique idea and it was fun to work it out.