Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Churn Dash for Summer!

There's just something so summery about a levi quilt. 
It makes me feel patriotic.

And I'm on a red kick this year, so red and white, just have to go with blue
And levis are blue.  So I made another levi quilt
(which I will never to do again, see this post).

This is the quilt I designed for The Perfect Picnic blog hop
I sewed lots of 2.5" squares together to make the church dash.  It finishes at 54"x60".

I wanted big pieces of levi with the seams,
but in-seams curve and it's hard to get large pieces. 

So after much frustration, I bought levi at the store.  ? !
What about the huge stack of pants that are sitting here?  I know. That killed me.  I gave it all away.
So the center is our levis but the rest is not.

 
 
Riley Blake provided a few hoppers with laminated cotton for the backing.  I was so pleased with it.  It drapes, it doesn't get major fold lines.  It sewed wonderfully.  I didn't use any special feet or tape or anything.  I did lengthen my stitch and used polyester thread.

To bind it, since the laminate does not fray, I just folded the back over the top and bound the quilt.

How slick is that? 
Easy.  Easy with wonder clips too.
 

I was kind of pushing my machine to it's limit.
I decided to machine quilt (I use the term lightly) through:
-levi
-batting
-laminated cotton on the back
 
and then I thought it would be cute to have stitches that looked more like your levis look (not sure what to call that)
so I used my finca perle cotton thread size 16 as my thread (not in the bobbin, just on top) and machine stitched through all the layers.
 
 
My machine pulled it off.


For a picnic you need a picnic basket.
My picnic basket needed a make-over. 
It's so old, I didn't know if it was worth it,
but I told myself, if I can do this in a hour, I'll do it.

Beware this next photo is frightening.
Help.

I could have unpicked the lining and used as a pattern.
But I was too scared of it.
 
So to figure the size, I wrapped the laminate around the outside of the basket
and then kind of did the bottom like a tote bag bottom.

 
Now it matches my quilt and will quickly clean up!
  
I am now a picnicking machine
with 2 picnic blankets and a basket at the ready!

 

17 comments:

  1. ok let me try that again...I am in awe of your churn...and yes all that denim makes it soooo usable, pracitcal and stylish....for some strange reason...I got a few empty boxes and white spaces..so I could not see the rest of your post...I will try later...it could be at my end...my router has been acting up today...

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  2. I just tried to post a comment, but it disappeared. Just smile and know that it was funny, 'cause I ain't retyping the whole darn thang agin. church dash? :)

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  3. Love it! Are you offering the pattern?

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    1. When I revisit it for another quilt, I'll write the pattern up.

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  4. You had me laughing about the Levi's. I've had several people tell me they have held on to their pants in hopes of making a quilt someday. I'll have to share your post and tell them to just go buy the denim fabric. Your churn dash quilt is just lovely as is your picnic basket. Does the embroidery thread need a special size needle to work on the machine? I want to try this!

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  5. Looks wonderful. I haven't heard of your backing fabric before, I'll have to get some of that!

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  6. How did you attach your lining to the basket? It is adorable. Blanket is fabulous. Glad you hung in there and got it finished.

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    1. I ended up hot gluing it. I was going for quick get it done :).

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  7. I so enjoyed reading both this post and the one about the other Levi picnic quilt. You gave me several good ideas for making a picnic blanket and an idea for my picnic basket too. Nice job on the quilt and basket.

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  8. I'm really impressed with both quilt and basket lining. Well done, Corrie!

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  9. SUPER cute! I need to make the churn dash quilt. I loved it when you posted it before and I love it now, too. You're so darn smart! That basket is super cute, too.

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  10. oh, oh, oh!!!! I LOVE THIS QUILT!!!! is there anyway you could postthe dimensions of the levi parts? how big is your center and the side pieces and the half sq triangle piece? My friend and I want to make this. we LOVE it!!! and today, someone gave me lots of yardage of denim fabric. so see we have to make this! pretty please with a cherry on top. This is one of my favorite quilts I have seen in a while. I love this quilt. I think I already said that, sorry. any hints would be wonderful. I am a follower

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