A birthday quilt for my little hockey star

I can't believe I am the mother of a seven year old! Happy birthday, Big G! Seems like just yesterday...
And now....
Yep, still a hockey fan! His current favorite team is the Flyers (in case that is not obvious). For Christmas he received a Flyers hoodie (always worn with hood on), worn topped with a new jersey, and then a baseball cap. He can recite all the stats and standings for all the teams, knows how to look them up on the internet on his own, and when he is not watching hockey, he is playing it.

So, when it came time to design the birthday quilt, the inspiration was clear- must include hockey. Originally, I had planned to use a couple hockey themed fabrics among those in the quilt top. Then I thought I would do a small rink on the back. But wouldn't it be fun to make patchwork red and blue lines? Let's make it bigger. And THAT is how it evolved into a hockey extravaganza!

But let's back it up here. While I now consider this a "reversible" quilt, the original top is an "I Spy" style patchwork inspired by this quilt.
I used about 90 different fabrics (only 2 are repeated, can you find them?), basically everything but the kitchen sink, but of course no pinks, purples or flowers for my guy. I included a bunch of my Munki Munkis, some Japanese prints, lots of dots and stripes, some robots, my Riley Blake Wheels scraps, some Modern Meadow, Katie Jump Rope, and so on! This is my first real "scrappy" quilt, and I guess I did that to the extreme!
I alternated the prints with a tan solid cotton, which kind of comes off as a linen. I love how it warms up the quilt! The sashing is a dark navy/indigo, and both solids are from a local quilt shop.
The back is a big old hockey rink. Man, this thing kicked my butt. Worth it. My worry was that it would come off too cheesy- I mean, it IS a hockey rink on a quilt!- but I think it turned out just right.

I tried many new techniques here, and learned a ton. How to add all those circles? I didn't want raw edges, so at first I thought I would piece them, but as there are circles within circles, it was just too complicated and I kept getting puckers, so I scrapped that. So I decided to applique them with the technique found here. I layered the appliques- red circle, then white, then mini red, to be accurate, then hand stitched in the mini line details with Perle 8 red thread. Time consuming!! But it's all in the details :-) I also appliqued aqua half circles for the goal creases.
Another technique to learn was piecing quarter circles to curve the edges of the rink. Love how it authenticates the "rink"!
Next detail was the red and blue lines. I decided to piece them, and I loved the effect so much I continued that theme on to the quilt's binding, adding one little strip of blue amongst the red.


Basting...well, you already heard me bellyache about that. But I learned some great new things, in addition to my husband's dumbbell idea. More on that later! The result was perfect! Front and back perfectly centered and in line. Due to the busy pattens front and back, I decided to do free motion meandering quilting, using white thread. I like how it pops against the dark sashing. And, not a pucker to be found. Happiness is!
It's done! I love it. And I love the crinkly goodness (cue angels singing).
This quilt included many "firsts" for me....first twin sized quilt (finished size is 70" by 84"), all the new circle piecing and applique techniques, first true scrappy quilt as opposed to sticking within designer lines, first pieced binding. And, most importantly, first quilt I have made that is actually staying in my own house!! I couldn't be happier with it...or more proud of its recipient. You and your sisters will always be my most precious creations. Love you, G!

p.s. I think he likes it :-)


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