Friday, May 4, 2018

Alan's Crown Royal Quilt -- finished

I've been working on this quilt, made of the flannel bags that Crown Royal brandy comes in. I didn't know (or ever really thought about) that people can buy different size bottles of the stuff and that the bags come in different colors. I still don't know why the different the colors, but that doesn't matter in quilt making.

The flannel increases the warmth and weight ante. Even though I used a thin cotton batting, the quilt is pretty heavy.  Last month when I wrote about Alan's quilt, I had finished the top. Since then I went to Paducah, babysat several days, and helped care for Richard's parents, both of whom are elderly and quite sick. 


Getting to the quilting was a challenge in finding time but I was determined to finish it before the next guild meeting, which is Monday. I met my goal! But that's all I've managed in the studio.



Milly and I stole out for a few minutes to take pictures of the quilt. The light was probably perfect since it was dusk, but that was a stroke of luck. I decided to throw it on Will's boat for a few shots thinking that it would make a masculine prop. It's definitely a guy quilt, even though it's mostly purple. 


I pieced a backing from some of the fabrics in my stash and thought that plaids would give it a more masculine touch. Of course, I didn't have enough plaids, so I just found some yardage that didn't have flowers on it. Really, that was my standard for choosing fabrics. I haven't shown the quilt to Alan (Dusti's boyfriend), but it's for Alan's dad , whom I've never met  so I couldn't choose fabrics specifically for him. In the end this just seemed one way to go. 



Since there were a few small bags in green and purple, I put those on the back and added darker green to make it even more masculine. I'm not sure I hit the target, but I tried. What do you think? Do the colors and plaids help?


Try to ignore the grass. I forgot that the flannel
picks up everything!
For the quilting, I chose a large stipple because it's fast and easy. I took time to make sure that the seams on the outside of each bag would be caught in the stitching so that they flipped from one side to the other. This gives lots of texture and a ripple look that I like. I've done this with other quilts but those needed more work. The seams on this quilt were built in, so I had to take advantage of that. 



Quilt Stats
Name:Alan's Crown Royal quilt
Size:67 x 82
Fabrics:flannel Crown Royal bags from client
Backing:yardage from stash
Binding:Kona gold 
Quilting:large stippling
Completed:2018 May

Link Ups!

4 comments:

Kaja said...

I didn't even know brandy could come in bags, but it's made for a very regal quilt. I like the mix on the back too - still manly enough for me. And hasn't Milly got big And sooo cute!

Sylvia@Treadlestitches said...

Wow, this was a quite a challenge, making a quilt for a man you don't know from unusual materials like flannel bags. You succeeded beautifully. It's attractive and warm and manly. Who wouldn't love it? And your little helper is adorable.
Cheers,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Karen S said...

Well done getting a finish with all that has been going on. It is looking wonderful.

Mary Marcotte said...

The quilt has gone home. It was a huge hit so I think it will be well-loved by the new owners. All of my worries about it being manly enough were unfounded, apparently, because the backing carried it's own weight. So another promise scratched off that list. :)
Thanks for the encouragement everyone. It certainly made handing over the quilt less nerve-wracking. I was really stressed over all that purple for a man, but you convinced me to let that go. Thanks so much for your positive comments and emails.