The Blankie

Brombeere likes to sew, there's no doubt about that. Over the years that I've known her she's sewn clothes, blankets, placemats, table runners, wall hangings, doll clothes; all kinds of stuff.  Kids and grandkids provide an excellent excuse to sew.  And so she does.  Initially it was a great way to save money.  Now, if she had a hobby, we would have to say it was sewing. 

Christmas is the busiest time of year, many of the gifts she gives are things she's sewn.  It's not uncommon at all for her to start a Christmas project weeks or even months ahead of Christmas.  This year she decided she wanted to make a camping blanket for Moosbeere (among other gift projects) so she began in June gathering ideas for patterns, material, and designs.  Once she settled on a design she started going through her stash of cloth and thread to see what material she already had and what she needed to get.  It was actually a few weeks later, after picking the pattern and assembling all the cloth, that she actually began sewing.

This quilt was going to be a block quilt so each block had to be sewn.  This blanket was also going to be big enough for a king-sized bed.  So there were quite a few blocks to make.  64 blocks in total.  Then each block has some boarder between them.  Then, once all the individual blocks were done, they all had to be sewn together.  It was a few months after she first began sewing before she had the whole top done.

This quilt was to have a rugged, outdoor theme to it, suitable for camping. This blankie was intended to be a camp quilt so, in addition to a rugged design, it also needed to be of sturdy material.

As the sewing continued, it began to take shape and started looking more and more like a quilt.

Then, around all those blocks, there was a boarder.

At last, with the top all done, it was time to put it on her quilting frames for tying it all together.  

Years ago Brombeere found some pretty nice quilting frames at a yard sale.  All the piece were there but what was real nice was that they fit together on a rack when they weren't in use.  That has turned out to be a pretty nice way to keep track of all the pieces in between uses.  Of course, teh long, cross pieces are anothr matter.  But still ...  And it had been a while since Brombeere had done a quit large enough that she needed them.  

Part of putting a quilt on the frame is putting the different layers together, the top, the batting, and the underside of the quilt.

So it took a while to lay out the top and trim it.

Then she had to lay out the batting and trim it to the top.

Then she needed to attach the bottom of the quilt, which had already been trimmed to fit the other pieces, to the frames. Some frames are made with wood soft enough that you can attach the fabric using thumb tacks.  That holds the material in place while you're tying it.

Alas, the frames Brombeere has are made of hardwood.   Pretty darn hard to get a thumb tack into it.  So years ago she had drilled a series of holes in the boards and now she just sews the material to the frames.  And that's what she did with this one.

That took a while.  But eventually it was done and everything was ready to lay the three layers of fabric together on the frames, ready to start tying.

Getting all three layers together on the frame proved to be a bit challenging, mostly because of the size of the quilt.

Brombeere needed a little more help than I could provide.  So she called Himbeere and they came over.  With four of us to hold the frames while Brombeere put the three layers together we were able to get it done.  The weight of all the cloth kept pulling the frame stands so they would tip over.  So we had to have extra people to hold them upright.  But we were finally able get it done.

Then there was just a little bit more work to make sure all the layers of fabric were laying smooth and wrinkle free, and sufficiently square on the frames, thoroughly pinned together to keep in place. 

It was at this point that Brombeere was able to roll the blanket on the frames so that the entire blanket wasn't out open.  That makes it easier to reach out into the middle of the blanket while doing the tying. Then the slow step of tying it all, individual stiches to hold it all in place during its years of use, rolling it as she went so that the area she was working on was out where she could reach.

It's tying a blanket that everyone usually thinks of when they think of making quilts.  Many people, me included, have memories of playing under the blanket while all the ladies, usually moms, aunts, and grandmas, gathered around the blanket to tie it.  The old fashion "quilting bees", all the hand stitching around quilting frames.  Sometimes the kids under the blanket were actually helping, pushing needles back up to the ladies on the top side.  But usually they were just playing and listening to all the talking among the ladies.  You could learn a lot listening in on such conversation.  It was a great social occasion.

Anyway, once she was done tying while it was on the frame there was still a little detail work to do. So it came off the frame and then began the finish work.

She decided it needed a little more stitching but she would be able to do that with it off the frames.  So she spread it out over the piano bench and across the floor, and put in the extra stitches.

Then she took it back to her machine and did the finish edging.

And at 4:15 pm on November 5th (a Friday) Brombeere pronounced it "done".  And it was.

So we played in it, snuggled in it ...

... curled up in it, and generally enjoyed this marvelous blanket.  And it was good.

So now, seven weeks before Christmas, it was done.  Of course, because it's a Christmas present, I can't really post this until after it's been given and opened.  I wouldn't want to spoil any surprise.  That would be bad form.  So when you're reading this, Merry Christmas!