Ingrid Whitcher

This project ended up being a lot of fun. The back ended up just as pretty as the top. The sari was so graphic that was really hard to see the quilting other than the idea of texture. The backing fabric was hard to get a true picture of the color – the fist picture is the closest. The light in the studio washes everything outing there were not good sunny days before I shipped it off.

Mom gave me free-reign on this project with the exception of incorporating the sari into the top. Once I had picked out the fabrics, I picked out thread and batting. I choose a pale grey thread as it blended well with all the fabrics and I would not have to change my thread at all. I used Superior Bottom-line 60 weight for both the top and the backing. This shows texture in the quilting but not thread build-up. I picked a low-loft polyester batting because I did not want to add a lot of weight to the quilt. The sari was so light and airy that other battings would weigh it down too much – play it allows the quilting to show nicely.

My next challenge was figuring out how to keep the sari from shifting while I quilted – SO SLIPPERY. I ended up thread basting the sari to the cream top fabric and putting a little bit of glue in the center. I knew the quilt would be soaked because of the blue pen, so a little glue would not be a problem. As I quilted, I reverted back to some of my domestic quilting tricks. I did the top border and then worked from the center out until I got to the other border. This was a lot of rolling back and forth but the only way I could ensure a square quilt in the end.

My Mom asked me to quilt a special quilt for my cousin’s wedding. She was really excited to give her something unique and special. I said yes as long as there would be no hard deadline – her response was that gifts could be given up to a year from the wedding and I felt that would not be any problem to accomplish. =)

The surprise for Molly is that my Mom wanted to incorporate my Great Aunt Ruth’s sari into the quilt. She had been a missionary in India for a number of years and Molly knew her well. Mom gave be full control of the project – I decided to use it as a whole cloth with a border on 2 sides. What I did not know is that sari fabric is very thin and slippery! I picked a cream solid for the top and a blue shot cotton for the back.

To help me remember the design for the borders, I took pictures as I worked out the design so when I got to the opposite borderI could lay it out the same. I love using the blue rinse out pen.

I love the color combination of the bright green with the black and white. I had a small piece of the zebra left for a previous project. I drafted a fun curve-pieced pattern. It also has some needle-turn appliqué. I love the quilting – it shows the white thread on the black backing. This quilt is available for purchase in my store

The last few months have been difficult as we had to say good-bye to 2 beloved pets. This picture is of the two of them with Jasper as a puppy. He was 6 and Boomer the boxer was 12. It was especially difficult on Emilie as she had grown up with Boomer.

For Christmas, our family brought home a new baby….Shawn. He is annoying Gus, the pug, so much – as every new puppy should. He is sweet and growing so fast. We were able to go and pick him out of the litter at 5 weeks old – waiting until he old enough to bring home was not fun.