A few months after we were married I asked The Man if he would like
me to make a quilt for him to take the next time he deployed. He said
sure. So I got to work on a quilt that would live on a submarine. He
told me the dimensions he wanted. I raided my stash and got to work. I
decided to do a simple pattern. It came together in no time. Once the
top was finished I put it away and figured I had plenty of time to
finish it since I knew he had awhile before he was leaving.
 |
| Getting ready to pin together |
Fast forward about 14 months or so. Two weeks before
he was left The Man asked me if I had finished his quilt. Um, no.
Hadn't even thought about it. Thankfully I knew exactly where it was.
All I had to get was backing and some fuzzy material. The Man requested
a foot pocket on the bottom of his quilt cause the sub can be really
cold and he wanted a way to keep his feet warm. Thankfully JoAnn's was
having a sale. Not the best quality fabric but it will do!
 |
| Molly had to make sure it was comfy |
Normally when I'm finishing a quilt I'll make a
sandwich of the backing material, the batting and the quilt top. You
can pin or baste them together and sew designs on it to keep the
sandwich together. Or if you're not talented you just sewing in the
seams (it's call stitch in the ditch. I'm a pro at this!) Someday I'll
have a long arm quilt machine. Someday. The only problem with doing
it this way is that you then have to sew on the binding. I machine sew
on one side but then hand sew the other. I knew there was no way I
would finish the binding before he left. So I cheated. I put the quilt
top and backing material right sides together and put the batting on
one side (along with the footie pocket!) I then sewed around and left
and opening. I then turned the quilt so the batting was on the inside.
I sewed around the edge to give it a finished look. Done. It saved so
much time! The Man was able to pack his quilt and take it with him.
He reports that he LOVES it.
Have you made anything for your spouse take with them on a deployment?
If you haven't yet entered my giveaway, what are you waiting for?!?
That is a gorgeous quilt! I love the colors and the clever way you put it together. Your project is much more impressive than the watch cap I knitted for my husband before he went. The issued cap he had was this nasty acrylic, not at all warm, so I looked up the uniform regs and made him one from wool -- actually warm, with the bonus that it wouldn't melt to his head in case of fire.
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew how to make stuff like this! Maybe when hubs gets deployed I'll pick up something like this. Love the quilt though, looks nice a comfy
ReplyDeleteGreat quilt! I hate sewing the binding. I made OccDoc a whole bunch of things, but I think the pillow and yoga bag are the things he used the most. Geez - I love those colors of the quilt - it looks great, and I love the foot pocket idea.
ReplyDeleteWe made something together but it was nearly as sophisticated as a quilt! We bought 2 blanket sized squares of fleece (one had polar bears on it and the other was a dark navy blue), made a bunch of cuts all the way around the 2 squares so there were equal amounts strips and then tied the two squares together by the strips. The end result was a very comfy fleece blanket he takes with him when he flies :)
ReplyDeleteI really wish I had the patience to learn to make something like a quilt. I'm so impatient! The photo of your dog is adorable - I have a dog named Molly too :)
ReplyDeletexo katie elizabeth
ohheyylife.blogspot.com
I'm so jealous of your skills! I'd love to have ability to make something so gorgeous & with all the personal touches - how cool is the foot pocket! Congrats on such an accomplishment :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool project! I've never made a quilt but it is definitely on my life to-do list :)
ReplyDeleteFrom the looks of things, looks like Molly likes the quilt too!
What a beautiful quilt! I love that it has a foot pocket!
ReplyDeleteStopping from Jenna's Journey!
I'm so impressed that you know how to sew and quilt. I had a tee shirt quilt made w/ all of my shirts from Habitat builds that I had done. I love it so much!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful quilt, you are so talented. I hadn't really made anything for my husband to take on his deployments because where he goes is always too hot! I've been thinking about taking his old and holey cammies and making those into a quilt though.
ReplyDeleteLove that quilt! I'm not so handy, so I commissioned my mom to make DH a sub blanket b/c he kept stealing the one she had made for me. It's just a fleece one and folds up into a pillow (I'm not sure what a foot pocket looks like, but this might be pretty equivalent). I don't think he ever used it as a pillow since it's so darn cold on the sub though.
ReplyDeleteExcellent work! I haven't made quilts in ages. My patience has decreased with age lol.
ReplyDeleteNice job! I keep saying that I'm going to make hubs a quilt too. I bet they really love having something from the wifey to cuddle up with at night. :)
ReplyDeleteI think it's so cute that your hus was so into the design of his quilt!
ReplyDelete