Scraps by Judy Martin
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Scraps by Judy is one of my favorite books, specifically the pattern called Monet’s Wedding Ring. This variation on the Wedding Ring Quilt is created with all straight-line piecing – no curves. I used this pattern to create my oldest son and daughter-in-law’s scrappy wedding ring quilt. So much thought went into this quilt. Their house style, decor, and my son’s connection to my quilting all played a part – Scrappy Wedding Ring Quilt is perfect.
Gorgeous Autumn Colors for inspiration in a Scrappy Wedding Ring Quilt
They were married in the fall, and those gorgeous fall colors are throughout their home. I planned the scrappy fabrics based on those fall colors and the time of year they got married with a variety of yellows. Next, my son had always supported the hand-dyed part of my quilting business; so naturally, I chose to use those fabrics as the wedding rings. Scrappy hand-dyed fabrics are perfect for this wedding ring quilt.
All kinds of Scrappy Hand-Dyed Fabrics to choose from
The process of choosing colors became much easier because I love the fall colors. I had stacks of hand-dyed fat quarters in those autumn colors.
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I added some blues and purples to help balance the colors. I could have spent weeks playing with colors, but I knew that I had to get moving on this project. At this point, it was summer, and I had such grand visions of having it done for Christmas. I was definitely overly optimistic.
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This Scrappy Wedding Ring Quilt and the illusion of curves
This version of the double wedding ring gives the illusion of curves without the difficulty of the curves. I love the scrappiness of the quilt. My only rule as I was piecing it was not to let the same color be together. I used a wide variety of hand-dyed fabrics (which have so much variation within each piece), so it wasn’t a struggle. My struggle was when to stop adding more variations.
Journal Time – Explaining the process to the Scrappy Wedding Ring Quilt
As I am quilting the quilt, I find myself thinking of the kids – who are no longer kids but adults. I started a journal with my reflections that I gave them along with the quilt. My son, raised with my quilting, wanted to make sure I added a label to the quilt with all the information. I also included the info in the journal, along with pictures. I KNOW that I got sappy in my journal entries, but I know they will appreciate it in the future.
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I always said when I was a much younger quilter that I would never hand quilt. I didn’t think I had the patience for it; well, I was wrong. I found that I genuinely enjoyed the process of hand quilting. I used these needles and Star Thread in the Autumn colorway– and boy did I go through a lot of it!
Batting and Backing
Because the quilt was designed to fit a California Kize bed, I still needed to piece the backing. I used wool batting; it needles very easily and is lightweight but warm. The part that was harder was finding a backing fabric that was wide enough. The only time it frustrated me was when I had to quilt through that seam. Before this, I had machine quilted my quilts. I asked questions from fellow quilters on products to use for layering the quilts, basting, and quilting. I am sharing with you the products that I used – some successfully and some not so successfully.
Layering the quilt
Layering the quilt was quite the ordeal. Our tiny cabin didn’t have the room. I used our pavilion and placed several tables together. The hard part was I found it difficult to reach the center of the quilt. I am a bit height challenged. 🙂 I taped the backing to the tables (they are plastic and not wood tables – so no worry of finish coming off). I added the batting, taking extra time to smooth it out and make sure it was even. Next, I added the quilt top. I had used spray sizing and pressed it several times to help it hold its shape as I layered it.
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Quilt Basting options
I used this tagging gun, and it was a lifesaver. It is my new go-to tool when finishing quilt projects. I tried to use temporary adhesive – oh, am I messy with that, and I am not crazy about the smell! I tried to use basting pins and safety pins; due to the quilt size, I struggled to keep everything even (wrinkles galore). I will save the pins for those smaller projects.
I am a big believer in fusible batting, but that would only hinder my hand quilting, and I need all the help I can get. I’ll save that batting for smaller projects that I am machine quilting. The nice part of the basting gun (tagging gun), there are options. I started with white fasteners because they came with the gun and showed up well on the quilt. I did go for a shorter fastener because there was less shifting of layers.
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Using a quilt frame
Even though I basted the quilt this way, I still used a quilt frame to help keep everything straight. I used the Frank A. Edmund American Legacy frame. I ordered the smaller size because I knew hubby could create longer rails for me to use. A rolling office chair and a couple of clip-on lights, and I was ready to go. Oh wait, I also “borrowed” my husband’s clamps to help pull the quilt tight across the frame on the sides.
Now I am ready to go except, I had no idea what needles to use. Again, I went back to my quilty friends and asked for suggestions.
Quilting Needles and Quilting Threads
I found that everyone has their own brand of needles that they favor. I used a big eye John James needle in a size ten, although I had since used the size 8 and 9 when I needed to – even though they didn’t have a big eye. The big eye helps compensate for aging eyes. Even with progressive lens, I cannot see to thread the needle without a ton of light and just plain luck. With the smaller eye size, a needle threader wasn’t much help. I did find a lighted magnifying light that I used on occasion. It just wasn’t something I needed if I had good light, and it cluttered up our tiny cabin.
Have you ever used beeswax to keep your threads from tangling as easily? I did for this project, but not for the next one. In this project, I used an Autumn Variegated Star Thread. I love how the colors flowed through the quilting process. Because I wasn’t using specific quilting threads, I found that the beeswax helped keep the threads from tangling. They pulled through the layers more easily.
Quilting Stencils for an Autumn Scrappy Wedding Ring Quilt
As I looked at my quilt, I pondered how I would quilt it. With some quilts, it tells you right away how it needs to be quilted. Trying to find continuous quilt patterns was also a struggle! Then, how do I mark it? So many more questions before I could start. I had two different style quilting patterns that I used. The perfect hand quilting pattern was found for this project, but it required chalk to transfer the lines.
So Many Choices
I used the Quilt Pounce Hancy (pictured below). It served its purpose but was messy. It did wash out with no issues, so that was a plus. Next, I used Clover’s extra fine, air erasable marker. Because my quilt pattern was small, I chose the air erasable one – plus, this forced me to complete that section before the marking was gone. A little extra insurance that I would stay focused!
I would have preferred to find all continuous quilting stencils but couldn’t find what I wanted. Here are the ones that I did end up using. Continuous ones: Heart Knot, Scrolling Hearts Border, and Maple Leaves. I will have to dig out my Hancy Pounce Chalk ones. I can no longer find them on Amazon.
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As I tried to get everything set up, I found two helpers holding down the fort. For some reason, my pups love to sleep under the quilting frame. If a quilt is draped over the frame and touches the floor – it won’t be long, and I’ll find it on the floor with the pups on it.
Until Next Time…
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