My quilt in this issue is New Life, so called because it gives new life to old jeans 😊 It's not very often I'm trendy, but upcycling old clothes is very on trend right now and I just happen to have a whole closet full of old jeans.
I also have an overabundance of scraps of quilting fabric and New Life makes good use of them, too. I used a little bit of everything in this quilt - fabrics from Northcott (including the solid white background), Island Batik, Me + You, plus plenty of others I've had since before I started paying attention to who made which fabrics.
I cut out the applique pieces with my new Midnight Edition tailor's shears from LDH Scissors. These scissors are gorgeous and *so* sharp!
Just watch how easily they cut right through the seam on a pair of jeans. My old scissors couldn't cut through that seam at all.
I didn't stitch around the applique pieces until it was time to quilt them. With hundreds of pieces, stitching around them only once made this much faster to finish. I considered using fusible web to attach the flower pieces, but I didn't want the extra stiffness that gives a quilt, especially since the denim is already thicker than quilting cotton and I wanted the quilt to stay as soft as possible. Instead, I just glued them in place using a washable glue stick and hoped they'd stay in place until I could quilt them, which they did (mostly). I did have to re-glue a piece here and there, but it wasn't bad at all. And the quilt is wonderfully soft!
I used Aurifil thread in three colours to quilt the flowers - 2692 for the black flower centers and the darker petals, 2600 for the lighter petals and 2780 for the in-between ones. I quilted just inside each of the applique shapes, with the intention that the denim will fray over time and soften those edges. You can already see that the edges frayed even as I was working on the quilt.
I quilted quick dot to dot continuous curves using 2600 in the triangles. Then I quilted the background with 2024 and a meandering loop and flower design that was so much fun to stitch.
This brick retaining wall has become a favourite place for me to take pictures. You can see it in my Dresden placemats, Churn baby quilt and Blowing in the Wind posts. Good thing the owners of the property don't mind me draping quilts over their wall!
I finished putting the binding on right after supper a couple of days before the quilt was due to Make Modern, and right before a forecasted stretch of bad weather. I immediately called my friend, Michelle, to see if she was available to help with the photography (like, right now!) and enlisted Zach to help, too. We were out the door less than half an hour after the last stitch went into the binding, lol. Michelle's son came along, too, so the two boys held the quilt while I took pictures and Michelle gave directions. It worked out really well and we were able to get these pictures before the sun got too low.
I love a good scrappy quilt and New Life is definitely that. Do you have a closet full of old jeans you could turn into a quilt?
I'm linking with TGIFF, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop and Beauties Pageant.
What a beautiful use of old denim. It's a great pattern and how wonderful that your quilt is in another issue of Make Modern. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great use of denim. It's a great pattern. You are becoming a regular in Make Modern.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great quilt, and a wonderful use of saved denim! Thanks for linking up with TGIFF!
ReplyDeleteI've been waiting for this quilt - and WOW! it was definitely worth it! Such a fantastic way to use up those old worn and ripped up jeans - and the great scraps that you accumulated too!
ReplyDeleteAnother!! Woman you are on FIRE!! This is simply gorgeous Leanne! Makes me want to save old jeans again... Did a flannel and denim rag quilt years ago that is much-loved in our family. This is so bright and so smart with all the scraps of fabric too!
ReplyDeleteBravo Leanne, c'est absolument magnifique !
ReplyDeleteEt j'aime cette idée de donner une vie nouvelle à de vieux vêtements.
Désolée d'écrire en français mais je ne suis pas confiante pour l'anglais.
Amitiés,
Muriel la Française