Finished (trimmed and bound, etc.) two quilts over the last couple of weeks.
The Valley of Kings has been on the list for about 12 years.
I bought the fabric (Robert Kaufman's Valley of Kings) because I loved the shiny, pretty, drama of the prints, and then realised it would probably be difficult to find a pattern that would showcase it properly.
I don't know that this pattern particularly does the job, but by the time I put this together, I didn't really care. I just wanted the quilt done!
It was originally intended for a friend I knew back in 2010 who held an interest in all things Egypt. I never mentioned it to her, and over the years we grew apart to the point where we're no longer in contact. As a result, I have this fabric and a quilt that I don't have a use for...
I was giving away quilts to a number of friends and added some that had been only just quilted (but weren't yet bound) and Valley of the Kings was in one of those lists. A friend promptly claimed it.
WOOHOO.
Okay, not quite 'woohoo' because I still had to bind the darn thing!
Which I did. Eventually. About a year after actually promising her the quilt. *sigh*
Oh well, she's happy with it. And so is the recipient of this one: the Classic Dead Simple.
So-named because it's pretty much just 5" squares arranged and sewn together. Easiest quilt in the world to make, right?
Well, unless you're like me and you angst over what should go where and whether it's all balanced enough and maybe I shouldn't do the colourwave but arrange it in another configuration...
I've had these fabrics for at least as long as I've had quilting as a moderately serious hobby (ie. taking up serious shelving in my house). I bought a number of charm packs of 'reconstruction' fabrics and mixed and melded them until I had a reasonable colourwash. The original plan was to sew them together as hexagons with either neutral triangles in the corner or a contrasting colour to the hexagon. And then, over the years, I realised it was too ambitious and I was never going to do it.
Cue the pandemic.
I had time on my hands, and all that fabric. I started putting together quilts that I'd only ever planned out. And the Dead Simple Classic was one of them. No muss, no fuss, just line up all the squares and sew them into rows and then into columns. BINGO.
The friend who requested this one was delighted to discover that the individual prints had some oddities to it - it's not just solid colour, it's got some prints and patterns: a map of the world, some paisley flowers, odd geometric designs...
Anyway, two quilts out.
I still have a whole bunch more to be bound and gifted. And something of a conundrum which I might ask for your help in solving. But that's for next post.
Both quilts are very nice and it's wonderful that your friends appreciate them. Life goes on and we change as we age. Friends also come and go, that's life! Happy stitching!
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