At quilt weekend, we mostly just sew (And gossip. And drink.). We don't have access to computers or washing machines - so getting this ready to bring with me took quite a bit of prework.
I had to design the puzzle (getting all the names of her kids, the grandkids and the great-grandkids took a lot of finagling - thank god I found this site). Then, I had to figure out the letters - I finally decided to print them on special printer cloth paper. When I went to buy the paper, the store told me each sheet shrinks 1/2 inch after washing. In quilting that is a HUGE difference. So first, I figured out what font size to use (170 centered well in a 3 inch block). Then I made it so I could fit 6 on each page (each piece of paper was about $4, so I was all about maximizing usage, considering I needed 122 letters!). Then I cut them into 3.5 inch squares, pulled of the backing paper (a 5 hour chore in itself) and then washed them to rinse off any extra ink and get the shinkage over with. I then ironed each letter to set the ink. They DID shrink (but only lengthwise), so thank god I did that. Then I re-cut them to 3 inches square. Of course, with all that, I managed to forget an 'O' at home - so when you look at the picture, Aaron is missing an O.
I wasn't able to finish the quilt on the weekend because of the missing O... but I think the quilt is going to blow my Grandmother's mind. She is a quilter herself, and loves crossword puzzles. I couldn't imagine a more perfect gift for her! I finished it yesterday and it's off to the quilters! Can't wait to see what it looks like all quilted up!
The only other thing I worked on was felt food for my kids and presents for special kids in my life. These took easily 6 hours (I made 6 bags and sandwiches). But it was fun - and that is the point of the weekend!
The pattern was in this book - it also has cool sandwich wraps I want to make.
4 comments:
That quilt is AMAZING!
That is a stunning quilt! Your grandmother will be thrilled, it's such a beautiful gift
Hi Cece! First off, I want to say THANK YOU for the comments on my blog about my Crossword puzzle quilt and for putting the link in your post. I'm so flattered!! And as you saw, I actually got this idea from another post last year. It is so interesting to see all the different ways the letters can be made! I love that link about the crossword puzzle maker! Would have made my job alot easier!!
NOW, I want to say how much I LOVE your quilt!! What a wonderful gift for your grandmother. It will indeed blow her away!!! May she have many, many years to enjoy it!
Peggy
WOW!
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