Hopefully worth the wait...

Just like someone with an addiction that goes to a group meeting and stands up to announce the issue that brought them to that end... I too need to stand up and say.. "Hello, I'm Kim and I am scared of the double wedding ring quilt that I'm working on!"

I figure if I write it here.. I can no longer ignore it.  I have been working on a lot of different projects at a time lately.  Some out of necessity, with so many new babies in our family I have been gifting some quilts for them, but also have been doing some fun projects too.  Like many quilters even when there are no projects actively on my radar, there is that one project.. the one that keeps being put aside and picked back up whenever time permits.  In my case, that's a queen size double wedding ring that I began several months ago and I have to say has been one of the most frustrating and difficult projects I have ever decided to attempt.  I refuse to say that it has beat me.... but if it were a person, me and that quilt would NOT be on speaking terms!

This is how this project began...

I have a niece, well.. I have 7 of them, but one in particular that around late summer or fall of 2010 had visited my house for a scrap book night.  She had been discussing plans (casually) of she and her boyfriend at the time getting married.  Now, mind you, at that time they were not engaged 'officially' and no plans (that I knew of) had been made.  Or if they were she wasn't fessing up about them.  However.. knowing her as I do, the next day I started to search for fabric.  I figured that I'd have my gift all ready when the special day arrives.. or when she calls me and tells me that she just got back from whatever tropical island where she secretly got married... I'd then magically appear with a wonderful quilt to wish them well.  So that was the plan..

Choosing the fabric...

I had some strict guidelines for myself when choosing the fabric for this project.  I wanted bright but not obnoxious colors and I wanted a chance to bring into this project a concept of random placement of colors / fabrics, something that I have been terrible at so far.  I also had to feel that the fabrics 'fit' the project.  What I mean by that is traditionally this design is done with fairly muted fabrics or fabrics that somewhat seem to meld together .. so I tried to fit all three criteria into my choice.  I also wanted the fabrics to fit my niece and her soon to be husband's personality too.. be 'hip' but cozy... ya know.. all the above.  I'd also need a lot of different fabrics that all matched together as the "arc" component, which is the key component to this quilt, hosts 11 different pieced strips of fabric.

I hit the jackpot I think with a fabric family called "Fandango" created by Kate Spain for Moda fabrics.

Now, non-quilters may look at those fabrics and say.. ".. kinda funky fabric maybe for a 1970s leisure suit ... but not to much for a big quilt"  However, keep in mind when you use small strips pieced together it is the overall effect that you see...

Foundation pieced arc before the extra was trimmed off.  Paper piecing allows you to work with strips that are not cut to fussy sizes / shapes which saves time.  I saved a bit more time by buying this fabric in jelly rolls which is a roll of strips cut two and a half inches wide.  All I had to do is cut the pieces to the proper length... saved a ton of cutting time.

Choosing the pattern...

As for choosing the pattern of a double wedding ring.  Simply put, I like the history of this quilt.  I am always interested in the beginnings of quilt designs.. that is, the history of them.  A lot of the older designs have a documented meaning or a sort legend behind them.   The double wedding ring, although seemingly obvious in its meaning has some mystery within its history.  The oldest known examples go as far back as the early 1800s and then a surge of this style appear again around the time of the great depression in the late 1920s and 1930s.  The logical assumption for that resurgence, I assume, is the fact that large bolts of fabric may have been expensive and cost prohibitive.  Therefore, quilters again had to rely on scraps of fabric to complete their quilt projects.  This quilt pattern contains over 1000 small strips of fabric pieced together to form the arcs, the main component of the design.

Not fully assembled, but you can see here why I like the fabrics.. fits the bill; some bright, some muted, randomly fits together and looks like fabric that would have been used in a traditional double wedding ring.

This design also lends itself to one thing I am trying to work on in my quilts, which is random placement of fabrics.  I tend to gravitate to those designs where colors and shapes are symmetrical.  My brain simply works best that way.. although that does not make a very interesting quilt and makes the work I'm doing faily common place and boring.  This is one way I thought of to get some "random" into my work.  Of course the symbolism isn't entirely lost either, a double wedding ring which I intend to quilt in a diamond pattern.... seems like a fairly clear well wishing for a wedding.

Now the challenges..

This quilt has a lot of firsts for me.. other than this being my first DWR pattern it is also the first time I have used the process of paper/foundation piecing for the arcs.  Which leads me to the 2nd and biggest challenge.. arcs.. arcs.. arcs... this quilt has so many difficult points to match up.. the arcs have an inside, and outside.. and to machine piece those has been so difficult.  Because of that I have resigned myself to the fact that this project may have to also be the first full size queen quilt that I have to completely go over by hand.. that's right... needle.. thread.. hoop.. by hand!  Something that I have never done before and am honestly not very skilled at.... now I know the reason we see all those old photos of frontier women sitting around a quilt all quilting it by hand together .. if it were up to one lady everyone would have frozen to death!  Especially if it were up to this woman...

While doing some reading and research about this I found a quote that clearly outlines my issues with this project..

"Double Wedding Ring. The very name inspires thoughts of romance and wedlock. And certainly many of these scalloped-arc quilts have been started to celebrate impending marriages.  Although they may not have finished until the first child's appearance!"  

Exactly!!  My niece was married on January 01, 2011 and yet finishing this quilt has been so challenging.  And yes.. as the quote hints.. their first baby is due in less than 1 month!! Luckily for me his quilt has been finished already.  So, for this project I am going to use every moment of the 1 year allowed by Dear. Prudence when delivering a wedding gift... hopefully I can finish it by New Years Eve!!