Squiggles: My Offroad Adventure Quilt
Squiggles Quilt Along
My quilting goal for February is to quilt along with author and designer Christa Watson, who is hosting the Squiggles quilt along. The Squiggles pattern is from Christa’s book Piece and Quilt with Precuts. Not only do I like the pattern, but also I want to improve my machine-quilting skills this year. So this was a great opportunity to find motivation from sewing along with a group of quilters.
I chose the J is for Jeep™ fabric collection by Riley Blake and a green Moda Grunge fabric as an accent (think green hills for Jeeps to climb).
The quilt is constructed of 5″ charm squares with the accent fabric stitched on to opposite corners. Here’s a look at my assembly line sewing skills.
Construction was relatively easy; however, pressing all the seams open seemed tedious. Now that the whole top is pieced together, I do see the advantage because all those seam intersections lie very flat.
Notice all those directional prints? I like to keep all four wheels on the ground, in real life and on the quilt top.
There is a map fabric backing to carry out the theme of an off-road adventure. The two prints are from Abi Hall’s Hello World collection for Moda Fabrics.
My Jeep™ Story
Perhaps I should begin by clarifying that this is Chapter One of my Jeep story because many more follow.
After I graduated from college, I began a public relations internship and lived with my great uncle and aunt. The slightly awkward part of this arrangement was the keen interest their neighbors had in my love life. More specifically, they wanted to match me up with the guy who lived two doors down the street.
Of course there was no way I was interested in meeting a guy that a bunch of retired people had handpicked for me.
One fall weekend the weather was especially warm. As I pulled on a puffer vest to go for a walk, I glanced out the window. There was the neighbor guy in the street — under his Jeep, making repairs.
My heart sunk. He would definitely see me step outside the house, so I couldn’t avoid him any longer. After a few minutes of conversation, I remember thinking, “Okay, I talked long enough to be polite…now I can go on my walk.”
A short time later the guy pulled up in his Jeep and asked if I would go for a ride with him. Without hesitation I hopped in! And two years later he proposed to me in that Jeep.
That is why 34 years later I needed to make a Jeep quilt.
Creative Inspiration
Read more from other makers at these linkups: