Thursday, May 28, 2015

Omaha Inspired Nephew Quilt

Sometimes a project just takes you over.
It gets you so excited that you can't stop thinking about it.
This is one of those for me.

My nephew, Josh, is a huge architectural preservationist guy.
If you follow him on Instagram, @joshua_biggs, you will see all sorts of cool photos of buildings and building details that he finds in the Omaha, NE area.

A month or so ago he posted this picture from Midtown Omaha


credit

Our instagram convo went something like this.

Josh:  Now that's a wall! #midtownOmaha
Me: That's a quilt wall. #quiltwall
Josh: You are more than welcome to make me that quilt.
Me: That would be an AWESOME quilt for sure.

About a week or two later I was still thinking about this picture, wondering if I could pull this off, without a pattern.  His 25th birthday is coming up in June and after practicing a bit with some of my solid scraps I decided I was going to tackle this quilt wall.

This was going to be my Cherri House City Quilts or Urban Views inspired quilt design.

In progress

I didn't get the points all lined up and decided I didn't care.
This is what happens when you "wing it" on the pattern.
It still looks good and works for what I wanted.


3 columns down and 1 more to go.
Excuse the unpacking and disorganized mess in the background.
We're still working on what we are doing with the basement.

Quilt top done

My 14 yr. old son loves this design.
I am taking that as a good sign that my nephew will too.


And can I just tell you that our screen porch might be my new favorite place to take pictures.  Great natural light and no glare.  Plus there were already some nails in place to hang the quilt.  It was meant to be.

The quilt got sent off this week to Lynn to be quilted.  Emily is going to help with it too so we can get it to him in time for his birthday. All our siblings will be in NE the weekend before his birthday to celebrate early our parents 50th wedding anniversary.  Can't wait for the surprise!!

Notes:
  • I bought 1/3 yd. of various solids besides what I already had on hand.
  • I had about 18 different colors of fabric--2 shades of yellow, 2 greens, about 4 blues, a couple browns, orange, black, a couple brown shades, purple, some grey.  Pick whatever you'd like.
  • I was able to cut 8 triangles out of each 1/3 yd.
  • The triangles had a 5" base and were approximately 17 1/2" tall.

8 comments:

  1. This is amazing! I love that you were able to make the quilt from the wall photo. I don't know how many times I've seen something like that and thought,"that's a quilt!" Good for you for making that quilt come to life, your nephew's going to love it!

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  2. Please sjare a picture of the quilted finiish. This is so cool. Debbie

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  3. Great quilt! Isn't it fun to find new quilt inspirations!

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  4. I love your quilt and the story behind it. I'm sure your nephew will love it.

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  5. This is amazing! What a great idea and I am sure he will love it!

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  6. Fabulous!! I'm sure he will love it!!
    Looking forward to seeing it quilted ~ Tracy

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    Replies
    1. I can't wait to see it all quilted too! That always adds so much.

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  7. It's a fabulous quilt! I think he'll love it. Enjoy the time with your family!

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