Union Jack Quilt

I must say I am rather proud of myself. I rarely say that, but on this occasion making this Union Jack quilt was quite a feat for me, plus it turned out really well. If you know me well or have known me since I was little, then you would know how much sewing and cutting do not come naturally! I made Elanor a quilt over the summer, if anyone remembers, but did not quilt it (I had a friend do it). It was just squares, but it was also quite large (twin sized). The Union Jack quilt is only lap sized (50"x 60"), which did make it a bit easier. However, it was more complex than Elanor's quilt and I quilted it myself.

My mom loves Great Britain and also many bands, shows, books, plays, food and general culture from there (as does everyone in my family). I decided to make a Union Jack quilt for my mom before Christmas, but did not have the time or money to start it until the end of January. However, I did not want it to be just a Union Jack, I wanted the fabric to be of different things from the U.K. So, I went to Spoonflower --a very cool website where anyone can put on their fabric designs--you can find almost anything on there! I only wanted fabrics that were red or blue and they had to be well designed, not tacky. I fortunately found many fabrics I loved, but I had to limit it to only six, since the fabric is rather expensive at this site. I got a fat quarter for every print I choose on Spoonflower, and then also I had some spare blue and white and then the tartan flannel, red plaid and batting I got on super sale at JoAnne's for only $7!

The blue fabrics from Spoonflower (Tardis-Doctor Who, The Beatles, London scenes).

The red fabrics from Spoonflower (Hobbit holes toile, British telephone and mail boxes, everything Harry Potter).

I designed the quilt myself. I decided to make nine blocks and then sew those nine blocks together.

This is my horrible drawing trying to figure it out.

This is my drawing of the blocks and sizes I would need to cut out. 

 I first cut out the blue fabric into strips and then sewed them together. Then, I cut each rectangle in half diagonally.

  I then sewed on a white strip to each triangle and ironed it. Since, I had not bought my red plaid yet, I moved onto my red fabric. I cut it out and then laid it out. Then I sewed two pieces of the red fabric together for each of the four arms of the cross and then sewed the middle bit with the white squares and telephone boxes together. After, I sewed the white strip onto each section, but did not sew the cross together. Does that make sense?

You can sort of see what I mean in this picture:

None of the blocks are sewn together, just sections.

Once I had the red plaid, I sewed it between each blue triangle, and then I could start sewing each of the nine blocks together. I started with the upper left blue block and sewed it to the small red arm to the right of it, then the other blue block, then next row was the left arm of the cross, the middle of the cross, and the right side and finally the last row was the bottom left blue, middle red, right blue. Make sense? I am horrible at all this, so I need every little thing described in detail to me, so I suspect there is someone out there like me!

Red plaid added.

After my top was all sewn together and ironed, with the help of my friend Becky, we basted the quilt top, batting and backing together. To baste a quilt, you spray this glue-like stuff onto each layer and it sticks together. It makes it so you can quilt it easily without all the pins!

I decided to quilt straight, horizontal lines across my quilt. I had never done this before and wanted to do something fairly easy. I used chalk and ruler to mark out the line and then just sewed along the lines. I used my regular sewing machine, which you can do as long as the batting is not too thick (I think 1/4" batting is ideal).

All quilted!

Next, I cut out my quilt evenly, and then binded it. To bind a quilt, you cut out several long 2 1/2 " pieces. You then sew all those pieces together for however much you need to go around your quilt (there are many binding tutorials out there), and iron it in half. Then, you sew the binding onto the quilt, with your machine. Then fold it over and hand stitch the other side down--at least you are supposed to! I zigzag stitch it on the other side because it is easy, looks nice enough and is strong.

Nice and cozy flannel backing!

I was so excited to give this quilt to my mom! She loved it so much she cried.

My mom on her birthday with her quilt!

Weekly Photo(s)

I have been out of town in Oregon for the past two weeks! I went back to do the choreography for my mom's play, The Sound of Music. It was a lot of fun and I went to rehearsals almost everyday I was there. I love doing choreography and I miss being involved in theatre, so I loved being at rehearsals! It was a very busy trip and I got some photos, but not many.

So for the week before Monday, March 10th, here is that Weekly Photo:

 This is the big reveal! I made this Union Jack quilt for my mom's birthday. I spent a lot of February sewing and choreographing. It was a busy month. I could not show a picture on here, however, until after my mom opened it. She loved it, since she (and our whole family) loves all things British. There will be more pictures of this quilt later in the week!

The week before Monday, March 17th:

 I rarely get pictures of Elanor and I (that are not taken at an arm's length by me), so it was nice to get one! We went on a hike up to these beautiful falls one day after rehearsal. 

More Oregon pictures coming!

Finally Finished!

I started this quilt for Elanor's bed way back in July or possibly earlier. It took me awhile to cut everything out, sew, iron and then sew all together. I finished it all in September and then trying to work out our different schedules I got it to my friend, Megan, in October so she could quilt it.  However, since this is my first ever quilt, my backing and batting were not quite big enough, so I bought more fabric, sewed some more and gave it back to Megan. She finished quilting it super fast and I got it back last week. The very last thing I had to do was put the binding on the quilt and I finished last night! I have learned so much about quilts and sewing from this project and I know what to do/not do the next time around. I love how it turned out, but don't look to too closely.

 Yes, the lighting it pretty much terrible, but I am impatient. I wanted to take pictures and then get the quilt washed and put on Elanor's bed as soon as possible.

Again, sorry about the brightness.

The backing is a green and white striped flannel, for extra coziness.

Megan did this swirly, loopy quilting, which I love!

I am so glad this is done and I am quite pleased with how it turned out! Next time I make a quilt, it will not be quite so large though...

Have a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! We are so excited for it! We are having it at our house with several friends and it should be a lot of fun and such a delicious meal (I have been making pies, and prepping for tomorrow already!)