Monday, May 7, 2012

That 70's Quilt

Do you have this song in your head? I have, for days! (love that show)



I know I say this every time, but this is my new favorite quilt. And I love the name....what is more fitting for a quilt made of vintage sheets? It will also have the perfect recipient. Sherri is, like me, a child of the 70s, and in university she decorated her apartment with a bright orange couch and shag carpeting (before it was cool). This quilt should fit right in!

Like Michele, Sherri is another of my long time friends. I am lucky to have quite a few in my life....I guess I am kinda like Herpes, once you have me I am hard to get rid of! We met in the 80s when we both tried out for and made a AA ringette team. What is ringette, you ask? An ice sport just for girls (that we rocked at!), which was basically the alternative to hockey before woman's hockey became the rage. Popular up here in Canada as well as northern Europe and the northern US. You know us Canucks and our ice sports!

Anyhoo, I played ringette for 20 years, many of those with Sherri. Then we went on to survive our undergraduate university degree together...many a late nights cramming or in the lab! And lots of good old university fun as well. Essentially, most of those moments when I was doing something I shouldn't, it was with Sherri ;) Oh, the stories we won't tell! She was a bridesmaid at my wedding, and we have been through many highs and lows together. She is like a sister to me.

A couple years ago, Sherri made the bold and brave decision to return to school and live out her dream to become a veterinarian. After some hard work upgrading some of her undergraduate courses, she was accepted and has just finished her second of four years in her degree. It hasn't been easy to go back to school at this stage, but she is sticking it out and I couldn't be prouder of her. As there are only a couple vet schools in Canada, she had to relocate far from friends and family to attend. So, it is back to the student life of borrowed mismatched furniture and late nights cramming! I thought a quilt was a perfect gift for her to have in her new place.

Some quilt details: made from some vintage sheet charms bought from Amy, along with my own finds, and backed with the perfect vintage sheet :)


I love the shade of green for sashing and the super cute orange binding, a fabric from the Dream On line by Urban Chiks.

I love the quilting. I did something new and outside my comfort zone, quilting free motion flowers on each square, using Elizabeth's tutorial. There was a learning curve, but I had fun. What is more suitable than some loopy flowers on a 70's quilt?


Then I used some cheery yellow thread to do some straight line quilting along the sashing. If you can call it straight. I accept that I am perfectly imperfect! But Sherri won't care. I originally was going to use variegated thread but didn't like it for straight line so I ripped it out. But I left a small segment of this....for no other reason than I felt like it. Something wonky! I'm weird like that.

After about a billion quilted flowers I started to feel cheeky and decided to add some "hidden messages" in the quilt. Some details from our past that will make her smile...her ringette jersey number, our nick names, and there maaaaay or may not be something about smoking weed, I will never tell. But certainly not about inhaling!!




Quilt stats:

finished size: approximately 50 " by 60"
fabrics: vintage sheets, green sashing (Heritage collection "green grass" at Fabricland),
binding: hand sewn, Dream On "Old School" by Urban Chiks
quilting: by me, flowers, words, and straight line.

And one more picture of That 70's Quilt...on a shag carpet, of course ;)

14 comments:

Stephanie said...

Love this one! So pretty :)

randi--i have to say said...

Very nice! I love the green sashing!

Little Island Quilting said...

Herpes, weed and shag all in one post. I dread to think what kind of non-quilting visitors you'll get to your blog now ;-)

Barb said...

Love your quilt, and the great story that inspired it too. I played ringette too, and now I'm trying to convince my 5 year old to play too, but she's only interested in hockey.

Katie B said...

I've never heard of this ringette business! Sounds like fun, if you like ice and that sort of thing.

I love this quilt! It is happy and fun and your friend will love it. Your quilting is genius and cheeky and very you. And I've always thought you were a bit like herpes.

bethanndodd said...

I can't stop laughing! I absolutely love the story behind this beautiful quilt. I can relate on many levels ;) Happy day to you! Smiles~Beth

Flo @ Butterfly Quilting said...

Great quilt....great story!! And also great job on the FMQ flowers....it's perfect. I love the hidden messages too...great idea!
And if she is at the Vet school in Saskatoon, and needs a home cooked meal..give her my email! I have a supper nite every week with my assorted kids/ university students and who ever else shows up. She would be welcome....and entertained I am sure!

BrianG said...

How fun! It is great to have such good friends!

Leila said...

Brian is really me! I don't know how many times I have done that. :)

felicity said...

Herpes and weed. Your blogger stats are going to be interesting for the next little while. Beautiful quilt - it's so nice to have old friends, isn't it?

Shay said...

Vintage sheet quilts are always gorgeous. Love to give sheets a new life. I adore the green sashing on this one. How could she not love it !

Unknown said...

Aww, I love it! The fmq flowers are great, and the hidden messages are pretty awesome. :)

Jessica Kelly said...

Super cute quilt, love the quilting!!

Lynne said...

, I'm sure Sherri loved it.

We were married in 1977 and moved into our own home in 1978. We chose shag pile carpet for our home plus bright orange laminate for the kitchen bench tops and bright orange chairs for the kitchen table!