When a friend of mine requested a quilt in LSU colors to give as a gift to his mother for Christmas, I was thrilled with the challenge. The vision was a queen size quilt, featuring purple and gold. Sounds easy enough, right? Little did I know, this project would test my skills and patience in ways I never anticipated.
The Design Process
Starting with the design, I carefully selected fabrics in the rich purples and golds that represent LSU (and Crown Royal LOL). The customer and I settled on a traditional 9 patch and alternating solid square pattern. The design seemed straightforward and elegant, perfect for a queen size quilt that would serve as a statement piece. I mapped out my design and began cutting the fabric, feeling confident and excited about the project.
Challenges and Changes
As with many creative endeavors, things didn’t go exactly as planned. Insert quilt math. FYI – quilt math is harder than it should be. Not knowing how to do quilt math, the difficult part of figuring out what size to cut squares could have been much easier had I known 9″ divided by 3 is much easier to cut than 10″ divided by 3… first lesson learned on this quilt, design and do math BEFORE you cut the fabric. Partway through the construction, I realized the error of my quilt math decisions making my seams ever so slightly misaligned. Despite my best efforts, the squares were slightly off, causing frustration to build. There was a fleeting moment where I considered tossing the entire project into the fire pit and starting over. The thought of all that wasted effort and material was daunting, but so was the idea of continuing with a flawed quilt.
A Lesson in Patience
In that moment of frustration, I remembered the importance of taking a step back. Crafting, like life, often requires us to pause, breathe, and reassess. I decided to walk away from the project for a bit, giving myself time to clear my head and regain perspective. This break was exactly what I needed. When I returned to the quilt, I approached it with renewed patience and a problem-solving mindset.
Pushing Through
I carefully unpicked the problematic seams and realigned the squares, determined to make it work. Slowly but surely, the quilt began to take shape as I had originally envisioned. It sill wasn’t perfect and the math was still slightly off, BUT it was coming together. After all the trials of piecing the top together, I rested firmly the quilting had to be simple. Of course, the customer wanted a dense quilting design with swirls and the like, so I started pushing through. In the first pass of this intricate swirl design, my longarm broke the needle and it was there, in that moment the entire house nearly went up in flames. Yes, I was past the quilt getting burned, now everything I owned was in jeopardy. I notified the client and he agreed to make it simpler in quilting style. That solved one of my problems, but here I was with a queen size quit and a longarm machine that needed service. I started googling and slowly but surely learned how to re-time my machine. Once tested and re-timed, I was good to move forward again. The only option left was straight-line quilting. Straight across, no swirls or movement. The straight-line quilting added a clean and modern touch, perfectly complementing the bold LSU colors. As the quilt took shape, so did my sense of accomplishment. What started as a frustrating project turned into a beautiful, heartfelt gift.
The Finished Quilt
By the time I finished, the project that terrorized me grew on me quite a bit. Here I was with this completed quilt, the largest I had ever made and it actually looked nice… The quilt was a stunning blend of purple and gold, with the alternating 9-patch and solid square design creating a visually striking pattern. It was far from perfect, but its imperfections made it unique and special.
Reflecting on the Experience
This quilt taught me valuable lessons about patience, perseverance, and the importance of taking breaks. Sometimes, when things aren’t going as planned, the best thing you can do is step away and give yourself time to regroup. This approach not only saved the quilt but also saved me from unnecessary stress and frustration.
In the end, the LSU quilt was a success, loved by its recipient and appreciated for the hard work it represented. It served as a reminder that even when things go wrong, there are always opportunities to learn and grow.
Quilting, much like life, is about the journey as much as the destination, and this journey was one I won’t soon forget.
No. 10 Stats:
- Size: Queen
- Top Style: Krafty Threads Custom Design
- Top Fabric: Kona Cotton Solids
- Piecing Thread: Gütermann 100% Cotton 1105 Cream
- Batting: Pellon Natural Cotton
- Backing Fabric: Sky Extra Wide in Dawn
- Binding: Kona Cotton Solids
- Quilting Style: Straight Line – 2” spacing
- Quilting Thread: Isacord 50 wt. Grape Variegated
- Quilting Machine: Grace Q’nique 16x Elite