Where do I even begin…… I was so excited about this quilt (and I still am)! When I found out my sister was going to have a baby, I couldn’t wait to get started on a quilt. I had to wait til they found out if it would be a boy or girl before I could even decide what I would do – I didn’t want to wait!! I started shopping for fabric right away. The problem was that I wanted it to be loved by the baby, toddler, child, teen, and by the parents too. I asked my sister what she was thinking of doing for a theme for the baby and there was never a super excited response that made me think…. That’s it… that is what I will make!
I finally found out..... It’s gonna be a girl…. Now I can figure this out!! I still wanted to make sure that everyone would love it so I started asking questions….. princess, ballerina, animals, Disney, lady bugs, pink, purple… super heroes, Starwars, He-man???.... And I could not get an answer for anything! I decided that I better just figure this out on my own. My main problem was that I didn't want this to be too girly. I wanted something just a little bit girly but still with some power behind it. I thought about Wonder Woman…. But I was not totally in love with the fabric. Then I finally found this wonderful line of pirate themed fabric called “Out to Sea by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller.” The more I looked at it the more I fell in love! It was absolutely perfect….. when someone hears pirates, the first thing they think of is that it is for boys. Not this time!! I found someone on Etsy that did a custom bundle for me so that I got all of the pieces I wanted. 19 fat quarters in total. Now came the hard part….. I needed a pattern that would accommodate the large prints and keep the map in one piece so that it can really be enjoyed.
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| Getting it all cut out. |
I got out my graph paper, did some more Google searching to inspire me and then started sketching…. I started with the largest piece – the map – and went from there. I figured if every square on my graph paper was one inch I should be able to design something that should work.
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| How I worked it out. |
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| Figuring out the layout. |
Once I got the general design down, I had to figure out placement and see if I even had enough fabric to accomplish this. I found colored pencils in colors that approximated the fabric colors as best I could and started coloring….. It took me a few drafts and a lot of contemplating. I had several squares that had nothing in them so I decided to find solids that matched. I needed solids to do her name and “Yo Ho Yo Ho” as well. I’m pretty sure that I over think and over analyze most of the designing and progression of the quilt because even after I had it all figured out I was still not perfectly satisfied.
I started cutting anyways….. Began the embroidery and worked on my sketch for the appliqué ship.
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| Pirate ship sketch. |
Turns out the appliqué ship was my favorite part!! I love love love the way it turned out! And it was so simple. I used Pellon 805 Wonder-Under and cut the pieces out and ironed them down. Then just did a straight stitch around all the pieces with a zig zag stitch for the poles. I can’t wait to do more appliqué now!!!
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| Finished block. |
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| I love the little kitty. |
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| Perfect! |
It didn't take me long to get it all put together once I was ready to sew. I did it in quarters- they didn't match up perfectly so I used the white to fill here and there so it would square up.
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| The first quarter done. |
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| The second quarter done - this one was not even!! |
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| Half done. |
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| All four quarters together at last. |
I couldn't wait to get it the finished top to my long arm quilter! I opted for the softest back I could find. It is Cuddle 3 by Shannon Fabrics. I absolutely love it and can't wait to make something for myself with it.
My long arm quilter is amazing and I love how she always puts the perfect pattern with the quilt.
This is by far one of my favorite quilts I have ever made! I have some amazing Hawaiian fabrics that I may use with this same pattern. It will be a while before I get to that one..... I have to work on some of my QFK projects first. Some day!
