Monday, December 30, 2013

Pickle Dish recipe

Excited as I was to FMQ the Franken-quilt, I had run out of any thread that would even approximate the colors I might need. Enter my dear husband, who was taking a trip into town. Meanwhile, back at the ranch (just an expression; what we have more approximates a hobby farm), I tried out the pickle dish recipe by Kaffe Fassett. Here is a quilt that somebody made following the exact recipe Kaffe lays out in his gorgeous book, Quilt Romance  (with just one substitution). They sell pre-cut kits at a shop called Tennessee Quilts:

Some pickle dish, eh? Normally, I would avoid something of such complexity. But my stepson's wedding is coming up in June, and I need to hone my skills for the double wedding ring quilt I want to make for the couple. (In fact, according to Barbara Brackman's criteria, the pattern above is a double wedding ring quilt; the traditional pickle dish pattern has spears.) Here is a another double wedding ring quilt in process, by Oregon quilter LuAnn Kessi:


So I set out to make a pickle-dish / wedding ring unit while I was waiting for my husband to return with the thread. It involved sewing on paper (note the place where I nearly sliced off part of my finger several years ago):


Ripping off paper:
 

And of course, cleaning up paper crumbles:


Despite how involved the process was, I did find some spontaneous pleasure.


Doesn't that look like a black-eyed Susan?


My takeaway lesson: Better get started on that wedding quilt now!





8 comments:

  1. So I love the colors you chose for your pickle dish! Are you making the wedding ring or the pickle dish for your stepson? You need to tell me how you add the arrow & words the pic showing off the scar. Did you do it w/Adobe? Also...have you checked out www.connectingthreads.com ? They have a ton of colors at an unbeatable price!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am not sure about pickle vs. ring, especially since Kaffee pickle is technically a ring! This was just a foray into the genre. I added the arrow with Paint. That's also how I align pics horizontally (there may be an easier way, I don't know). As for thread, I've got a draft of a post on the topic, referencing your Connecting Threads article. I went there but I chickened out of 100% cotton thread because I always pre-wash my fabric... wouldn't the thread cause puckering when it shrank?? So I got polyester thread cones and a couple of other cool tools (a pedal mat -- yes!) there.

      Delete
  2. What color are you quilting Frankenstein with?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Zenia, when I asked for royal blue thread, he came home with indigo! (doesn't he read my blog LOL?) luckily I also asked for light lemon yellow, which is working out okay.

      Delete
  3. Love these colors #2, whoooyee that is going to be some quilt!! Hugs, Carli

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Carli, I was really interested in that burgundy beauty you mentioned in your latest post. Did you make a photo-fabric collage? Looking forward to the crazy quilt-along. For my Xmas gift I asked my mom to clear out her closets of any knick-knacky things like doilies etc!

      Delete
  4. Your battle scar is frightening! So good that it healed so well. Your pickle dish block is gorgeous. I love the colors.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks, Nancy. It was a pretty scary accident; took a trip to the ER.

    ReplyDelete