Have you ever had a quilting project that just didn't seem to want to get done? When none of the stars (not those on the quilt but in the heavens) aligned ?
I committed to make another set of paraments for the church to go on the pulpit and lectern. (I should be committed, but that's another story.) Several months ago I realized it was nearing time to change to purple for the Advent season and I was void of inspiration. Then, when looking through some pattern books, this Peg Bingham pattern fell out from between the pages.
Talk about Serendipity! BUT, the pattern is for a full-scale quilt and I needed to size it down considerably. First I graphed it out on paper, allowing each square to be one inch.
That first iteration came to 29" and the pulpit is barely 23" wide! (It's a small church ...) I changed the scale to .75"/square and it was still too big. So I eliminated a row of squares in each direction through the center (the squiggly line) and also shortened the sides and top by one row. By now I couldn't tell heads from tails; I needed a better graph but couldn't find my composition book of graph paper. Off to Staples for a replacement.
I let the design stew in the back of my mind while I searched for the "perfect" purple. In my mind it needed to be close to the store-bought set we currently have or some individuals in the congregation might object (you know how that goes). I finally found fabric I thought would work.
In the meantime I worked out a new graph based on .75"/square.
But life intervened; suddenly I'm weeks away from the first Sunday in Advent (November 28) and I can't find the pattern or my new graph. I frantically sent out a call for anyone who could send me in the direction of a source for the pattern as Peg is no longer living. By the time a friend of Peg's responded, I had found my pattern and graph on the kitchen/bar counter (really???).
Not happy with my selection of metallic golds, but with time running out, I started cutting. I was very meticulous with my stitching because so much can go wrong with all those tiny pieces. This is my progress to date.
I am sure they are thrilled that you volunteered to make this but deadlines creep up really fast. It is turning out very nice and I can imagine the concentration it took with such small pieces.
ReplyDeleteThat's beautiful, Libby! It looks like you were very exact with your tiny piecing. Your fellow church members are lucky to have you!
ReplyDeleteNothing like a deadline to motivate! I really like how you adapted the design - it's lovely and the congregation should really appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteJust caught up on your posts, Libby. Ever so glad you discovered your heated seats as we head to winter. What a great time you had on Thanksgiving. How well received your Tiny Tuesday quilt was...so great to see it being enjoyed like that. Now I'm just amazed with what you are working out here...so many calculations for paraments...something I'd never heard of. But it looks like you have nailed it here. I looked at your photo enlarged. Truly beautiful...they will have to be thrilled with this.
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