Mom, Can You Make a Quilt for This Space?

My oldest daughter Audrey and husband bought their first house in Baltimore. It's a row house with a lot of character (and two sets of 18 stairs!). At the top of the first flight is a space that begs for a skinny quilt - at least that's what Audrey thought. And, you know she thought of me.

She loves all my Gee's Bend quilts and took 2 of them to live with her about 10 years ago. She liked the center of the Lazy Gal quilt and asked if I could make that fit to a 16" x 42". Are you kidding? I can do just about anything quilt-y!

Do you remember Lazy Gal? It's one of my favorites. Here is the original one by Quinnie Pettway.

Lazy Gal by Loretta Pettway, Gee's Bend, Alabama

Here is how I patterned it for Windham Fabrics in 2009. Pretty close, huh?

Lazy Gal interpreted by me. 52" x 62"

And here is the quilt I made for Audrey using just the center of the Lazy Gal quilt. It's only 15-1/2" wide. I had to use the colors I had on hand, though a few of them are remaining scraps from the original Gee's Bend collection Windham pulled together. I took liberties with the strip widths and changed things around a little, but the feeling is the same. This was one of the easiest of the 8 patterns I designed and made for Windham.

Audrey's Lazy Gal wall banner

I wanted to use all straight line quilting. A friend showed me how she uses blue masking tape as a guide. It's brilliant. I first did some easy grid work in the center. Then I had to make sure my 42" vertical lines were going to be straight. You can see my blue tape guides here.

Blue tape is my sewing guide

And I took a picture of how easy it was for my walking foot to stay in line:

Stitching in the blue tape channels

The blue tape can be reused a few times. It doesn't leave a residue and, for me, it was revolutionary. Give it a try sometime if you need to make your lines straight.

You can see 7 of the 8 Gee's Bend patterns in my Etsy shop. Lazy Gal is here.

And, yes. Audrey loves her new banner!

Comments

  1. Thanks for the blue tape tip. I need all the help I can get when I quilt. I only quilt using my walking foot. Great that you can help your daughter.
    Stay safe.

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    1. This blue tape as a guide is a game changer! I don't do much walking foot quilting, but being able to get a straight line is awesome!

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  2. Very pretty. I had a gentleman yesterday tell me how he used painters tape to get his stitching lines so straight after I commented on straight they were. I work in a fabric warehouse and the gentleman and his wife were showing us what they had done with the fabric they had purchased.
    It’s wonderful that your daughter loves your quilts and wants to have and display them.

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    1. Over the years, when my daughters see a quilt on display in my house, if they like it, they don't hesitate to say so AND ask for it! If I don't need it for teaching or lectures, I give it to them. Or else the poor thing might end up in my closet when I switch out my quilts seasonally.

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  3. That looks marvelous and I'll bet it gives the stairs a new warmth.

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    1. Well, I hope so. It's an interesting alcove in a very old row house in Baltimore. Lots of character (and lot's of things that need to be replaced!).

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Thanks for stopping by Debby Kratovil Quilts! If you had a question and don't get an answer from me, please feel free to email me at: kratovil@his.com