Friday, September 3, 2010

At last . . . a finished "Man Quilt!"

Last January, I set out to make my husband a quilt.  A manly quilt.

He said it couldn't be done.  (The manly part, that is.)  But if there's one thing you can say about this quilt, it's definitely not girly!  I fear I may have gone overboard with all that Kona Black, buy hey, it's manly!  The rest of the fabric is Authentic by Sweetwater, which is such a great, unique line!


The back is mostly the "Dictionary" word print with a strip of patchwork at the top to make it a little more interesting.




I especially love the Authentic number print for my number-crunching husband who's getting his MBA in Accounting.


I really like this green stripe for the binding.  At first I was bummed that I didn't cut the stripes horizontally, but now I kind of like them running vertically.  (And yes, I machine stitched the binding to the back of the quilt.  Don't judge - this is a BIG quilt!  For me, at least.)



Here it is resting on our couch, where it will spend most of it's time!  I'm not crazy about my quilting (concentric diamonds) or thread choice (off-white.)  I wish I was comfortable with free-motion quilting, because I've heard that's easier to do on large quilts.  I was also really stumped on what thread color to choose.  Maybe I should have used a variegated thread?  Oh well, my husband likes it and that's what matters most!



The Man Quilt measures 70" x 80" and is by far my largest yet!  It took over my entire breakfast nook while I was basting it.  In this picture I'm standing where the kitchen table should be.  We squished it into the family room so that we could have dinner with my parents.  Yep, this is what it's like to live with a quilter!
 


All in all, this my least favorite quilt so far.  It's a little too bold and geometic and it was big and heavy and awkward to work with.  However, it's DONE and that is a very good feeling indeed.  And now Mr. PinSewPress doesn't have to steal my quilt that's way too small for him anyway :-)

I'm linking up to Amylouwho's Sew & Tell Friday.  Be sure to check out all the other great finishes!

Happy sewing!
Mary

38 comments:

  1. I am so glad that you finished. It's hard to be motivated to work on a project sometimes when it isn't your taste. But it sounds like you got it just right as far as your husband is concerned. I just love, love, love that dictionary print! You did a great job. Hey, Rita of Red Pepper Quilts machine sews all of her bindings. No need to apologize! When will your husband be done with his MBA?

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  2. I like it!! I love that you used all the dictionary word print and the numbers!! Looks great!

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  3. It's awesome! I love the kind of optical illusion you get looking at it. Very cool!

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  4. I really like it! That sweetwater line is one of my favs and it seems to fit your number lovin' husband just great. Good Job!

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  5. Awesome quilt mate!
    I am so glad you got it finished!
    I think you nailed the Manly part!
    I also think you are being too hard on yourself, Take a step back and have a look, It is a gorgeous quilt! Well done!!!

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  6. Nice finish! It's positively manly and I'm crazy for all that text printing and polka dot fabric. That was a lot of quilt to handle and it looks terrific.

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  7. I love it! It is very manly. :) I never know what color thread to use either.

    You should definitely try free motion quilting. I find it much easier than straight lines!

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  8. Now he'll have to put in his "man room". Great job!!

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  9. I love it! Very manly, and the black looks sharp. I love that feeling when it is FINISHED, don't you? Ahhhhh....

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  10. I don't think there is too much black at all--it really pops!

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  11. I can't believe this is your least favorite quilt yet!!!! It turned out so great, and manly. I think that you are just being too hard on yourself about all of it, including your quilting thread, and diamond quilting. Be proud, it looks great, and like you said, as long as the Mr. likes it that's all that matters!

    Are those new dishes on your table? Did you get rid of the fruit ones and go for the white sqaure kind? That's what we got from our registry (and also got rid of the fruit dishes then)... I really wanted white so that all my pictures of food would pop, and that any meal would look good on them, with any theme/ holiday, and if I ever change our dining room decor. I like them, but at times I wish I had something a little more bold and fun. And J has come to HATE the sqaure bowls, thinking they were the dumbest thing ever invented!

    Doing some blog re-design? This is at least your second new header this week! I really like it though... it looks like you used my Cricut and scrapbooked... so fun!

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  12. Wow! That's so excellent!!! Bravo you savvy quilter!!!! <3

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  13. wow, wow, wow! I am so impressed! I would be so proud of myself if I were you. And I know your hubby probably adores it already! ;-)

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  14. The quilt is amazing though I am sure you are glad you're finished. Just the thought of starting on a mini quilt has me all stressed out ;)


    Off topic but where did you get the penguin?! Syd would flip out if she saw it. My living room looks a lot like yours ... toy land!

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  15. wow that is great. I love the straight line quilting you did! I'm trying to master a couple manly quilts myself and I feel like they are all just blah and boring. But yours is eye catching and i think the whilte thread you used is perfect, but I know what you mean. I always go back and forth on what color of thread to use.

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  16. I love it, it looks awesome! It's just so graphic and definitely manly. And I love that the number prints line up with his accounting career!

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  17. What a great quilt. I love it and it is very manly!!!

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  18. Beautiful quilt, Mary! One suggestion for the future - have you tried spray basting? When you are working with a big quilt, it really cuts down on the weight and bulk of the quilt if their are no pins in it! I use it almost exclusively now and I've had really good luck with it. I do both free motion quilting and straight line quilting, depending on my mood, and it works well with both. You did a great job with this one - I sure hope your hubby loves it!!

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  19. I think it turned out great! No judging here - I'm impressed you were able to machine stitch the binding. I tried it once and I kept messing up. Yours looks great!

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  20. congratulations! This looks awesome, enough so that even a woman could love it ;)

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  21. That's a great manly quilt. I wouldn't want him stealing your quilt either. Its just so lovely.

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  22. This is ace, gives me ideas :-)

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  23. Your Man Quilt is Great! We buy Kona Black by the bolt, so there is never too much.

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  24. Oh, wow. I love how bold that black is! It seems like such a hard color to use, and you did it perfectly! Great job!

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  25. I think it looks great! I do the same thing when basting my large quilts.

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  26. i love this mary! I really love how it turned out and the fabrics and design you chose are just perfect. Did you use painters tape to get the quilting lines?

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  27. This is very striking! I cannot believe that you don't like it. It reminds me of men's suits. It is really lovely. Thanks for sharing.

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  28. I love your quilt. I think you were up for the challenge and made a beautiful and manly quilt. Did you make up the pattern yourself?

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  29. Definitively manly, I made one Authentic quilt for my hubby too!

    Hugs.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/caludia_crafts/4829118743/

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  30. I don't think that I have posted a comment on your site before, but I have your blog marked under my favs and I saw your orginal post about your man quilt! All I got to say is IT LOOKS GREAT;0) I like the way the quilting shows up and if the binding has some uh-ohs I couldn't see them! You go Girly!!! Sarah

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  31. Guy quilt to a tee! Great job! I like that line too. I never bought any though...

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  32. Stella Banks from CanadaNovember 18, 2013 at 5:01 PM

    You,my dear, did a fantastic thing for your Husband as well as building a memory that will last for years and years to come, Oh and the quilt turned out Awesome, I love it. I bet he does also.

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