Austin's Graduation Quilt

Can I just say that this has been a really fun and rewarding quilt to make?

1st, I cleaned out the shelf on my closet

2nd, I recycled all the old jeans that were there

3rd, I let my creative juices flow,

and

4th, I have created a quilt top any cowboy would love to have

I started with a basic 9 patch. I had white, black, faded denim (both from wear and from "style"), stretch denim and some from a scrap I still had when I made jeans for my girls 30# years ago. It was interesting putting it together.

I cut 61/2 inch blocks, so they were 6 inches sewed, and the 9 patch was 18 inches square.

Here is a sample of a 9 patch.

Next, I cut the squares into 4ths, creating 4 9 inch blocks from each 9 patch square.

Then I randomly sewed the blocks back together in rows, turning and turning. The result was really interesting, This is the first and second rows (part of, as it is 10 blocks wide and 10 blocks long) Notice the pocket on the upper left corner. It is not a "Wrangler" pocket, but my girl wranglers don't have the same type pocket that the boys do.

Here is the completed top on my bed.

I have some blue/gray flannel I will us as the back. I plan to tie this one. It is too thick to try to quilt by hand. I used a whole blade on my rotary cutter and am on the last needle on my sewing machine. I also used the last of my white thread from the cones that Grandma Winkler gave me. I still have a part of a black one and a navy blue one, but the white is all gone. How long has that been?At least 15 years, maybe 20.I have made a lot of projects with that thread over the years.

As I worked on this quilt, I remembered the 1st 9 patch that I ever did. I must have been 19, and was living with Grandpa and Grandma Winkler during the summer between semesters at Utah State. I remembered Uncle Allen and Aunt Clara coming for a visit while I was working on it. I had a couple of tucks where the corners would not match. Uncle Allen gave me such a hard time about the tucks, that I took it apart and re-did the blocks. That has stayed with me all these years. Thank goodness for cutting boards, rotary cutters, and rulers to help us make our blocks the same size. You will not find a tuck in this quilt.

When I was working on my Dorinda quilt, I was showing it to a friend, when I discovered a tuck in one of the sunbursts. She said that I should leave it, and just flatten it out when I quilted it. Well, thanks to Uncle Allen, I brought it home and re-did the seam, removing the tuck.