Friday, October 21, 2016

Vintage Finish - Double wedding ring

Did you ever have a quilt that you just could not get excited about?  Something you couldn't sink your teeth into and work on with total joy?  One that had such issues that you just knew it was going to be a total disaster no matter what you did with it?  This is the story of one of those quilts!

This is a project that was passed on to me by my friend who has an alteration shop.  She had a customer come in with a stack of the pieced rings for a double wedding ring quilt - just the rings, no wedges or centers.  My friend decided to applique the ring sections onto a background fabric, then piece the squares into a queen size quilt.  When it landed in my lap I was not excited about it at all - I was really stuck on the fact that it was not being sewn together the "right" way.



After I machine appliqued some of the blocks, I grudgingly admitting that sewing these the traditional way would have been torture as the rings did not lay very flat and were not all the same size, plus the fabrics were not all quilting cottons, this is truly a scrap bag quilt.  After we ran out of the first background fabric and had to substitute a second fabric, I was even less enthused about how this was going o come together.  Finally we got enough blocks prepared to make a large enough top to fit a queen size bed and I had to grit my teeth and just start putting the blocks together.

As I sewed, I found that the look of the quilt really started to appeal to me, and when I finished the top I was surprised to find that I really loved the way it came out!  I decided to quilt it in a simple meander and when I was done found that I can say I wholeheartedly approve of the result.  It's traditional, and modern at the same time.  The alternating background really gives it a fun look, and you really can't tell that the blocks are not all the same size.
I have enough blocks left to make a matching lap quilt for the owners daughter, and a couple of pillows as well, so that's my plan for this rainy fall day!

 I ended up liking this project so much that I had to add it to my "bucket list" of quilts to make for myself.   I am on the lookout for a batch of these rings that I can buy to make my own quilt in the same way!  I'm sure that eventually I will find a nice batch of them at the right price.

What did I learn from making this quilt?  That sometimes thinking outside the box can have fabulous results.  What do you think?

I'm linking up with Myra at BusyHandsQuilts - join in and see some great projects!

Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts

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