Eureka! Unca Ray's Red Barn Quilt is Done!

This is just half of the quilt.


At the thrift store last week, I found some Red Barn coffee mugs. Of course, I had to get them and make them part of the gift. ;-) These reds are more true to the actual colors of the quilt. I love this picture of Ray's hand with the coffee mug. He always has a cup or coffee! Or a beer ...


First look ...


He likes it!


Me and Unca Ray with his new quilt.

I like it so much I told him I just might keep it! Actually, I have enough blocks left over to make a smaller (lap size?) quilt. I'll have to start putting that together ...

Notes on the Making of The Red Barn Quilt
The pattern is by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr. The "Band Together" pattern appeared in the Feb 2010 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting.





The Quilting Pantograph is "Wind Water" Pantograph by Kathie James. It looks kind of like flames rolling over the rich reds and browns. It just makes me think of Christmas at Fanny & Alexander's grandmother's house in Sweden. ;-)


Here's a shot of the quilting from the back where you can see it a little better. The colors in the photo have been enhanced to highlight the stitching. I did the quilting on the Tin Lizzie at It's Sew Rite, here in Oshkosh. It only took 3.5 hours. It sure beats 3-1/2 months of weekends to finish it!


Batting : Hobbs 80/20 BLACK batting. Since the colors of the top were so dark, I didn't want bearding to be an issue. I tried to order 2 black poly batts online, but they were both unavailable. Who knew black batts would ever be so popular or difficult to find? Unca Ray wanted a light quilt, not so densely quilted. He didn't want to feel like he was sleeping under a carpet. (I remember those heavy moving blankets we slept under at Grappa Eddie's house! Sheesh!)


Threads : I used a vareigated red to brown thread by Guterman (Col. 9959 : Berry Berry). It blended really well for quilting.
Black cotton by Connecting Threads for piecing.