There is nothing quite like a sewing project to bring people together in unique ways. Recently, I have been working on a denim quilt with my sister, Elizabeth of Study.Quiet. It would probably be more accurate to say that we are both working on a quilt, since she started one of her own.It really has been fun. We had to take a break from it because of our family's trip to New Mexico, but the pictures show our progress. All of the fabric is scraps from either our father's jeans or worn out and retired skirts and jumpers. I think you will see from the pictures that we are both going in different directions as far as design, and it has been fascinating to see our different personalities come through.
Elizabeth took an organized approach and worked out on paper what she was going to do, how big her finished product would be, and exactly how many squares of each denim shade she would need. Of course, I ended up messing her up because I gave her the wrong seam allowance, and it will now be slightly larger than she imagined. She has a mathematical mind and was taking the project much more seriously than I was. As you can see in the picture, she is focusing on just two shades and using them in a checkered fashion.
For mine, I had a basic idea and just improvised from there. I am also using more shades, including black, and have them positioned in a more eclectic way. It started out to be just a simple picnic blanket, then I had the idea to put a thick border on it and applique designs all around. I'm not quite there yet, but those designs are now going to be cats to memorialize our cat, Empress, who we lost this year. She had three litters of four kittens each so I thought that 12 could be the number of cats on the border.I hope you have enjoyed reading about my project and that you will let me know what you think. Maybe you'll be inspired to make your own!
