Tuesday, September 25, 2018

The Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt

Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018

There's a sew-along happening! The Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt Sew-Along is hosted by Sewtopia, The Next Stitch and Denyse Schmidt (Denyse is the designer of this timeless version of a traditional Double Wedding Ring quilt). This pattern and sew-along is for the updated free-wheeling version of the original Single Girl Quilt pattern and includes guidelines for improvising the arcs for each block.

Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018
Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018
Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018

The Single Girl Quilt has been on my quilt bucket list for several years, and more recently (in the last 3 months) I had purchased both the Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt pattern and templates. So when the sew along was announced I was ready to go. It was the nudge I needed to just do it.

Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018

Now, free-wheeling (improvised piecing) is not exactly my preferred sewing style, and the 36 arcs required for this quilt were pieced over a one week period. Not that I struggled with the pattern or the instructions. In fact, it was easy, and together with the templates, all the blocks came together so well.  It is more that I like to measure .... everything. In the end, having to let go of creating identical pieced arcs was freeing, and I could not be happier with the finished quilt.

Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018

I have used two of my most loved fabric collections to piece the arcs: Flea Market Fancy and Katie Jump Rope. Both these collections are by Denyse Schmidt, and both have been reprinted in more recent years. Many of the fabric pieces used are from the original collections and in color ways that are now very hard to find. It was a joy working with these long stashed fabrics, and it seemed appropriate to cut into them for this quilt!

Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018
Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018

I have quilted the quilt with an all over 1/2" grid of intersecting quilting lines, and I have used a heavier weight thread (Aurifil 28wt - the grey spool) for the top thread. The heavier/thicker thread gives the stitch a lovely definition. Yes, the quilting took forever; hours and hours of mindless stitching (and almost a whole spool of top thread - 750 meters), but the texture is so worth it.

Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018
Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018
Click on any image for a larger view.

For the back of the quilt I have used a single floral/ribbon print from the reprinted Katie Jump Rope collection. I love this print and was happy to have sufficient yardage on hand to use for the quilt back.

Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018
Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018
Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018

And for the binding I was rather thrilled (and surprised) to find a half yard of stripe fabric from the original Katie Jump Rope collection in my stash. The green/black/white/ stripe adds a nice contrast finished edge to the quilt. I also decided I needed to spend some extra time with the quilt and hand slip stitched the binding to the quilt back; time to reflect and enjoy the make journey.

Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018 #modernquilt #freewheelingsinglegirlquilt #singlegirlquilt #patchworkquilt

QUILT DETAILS
Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt
Finished quilt measures 62.5 inches x 62.5 inches.
Pattern :
Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt by Denyse Schmidt
36 quarter circle arc blocks.
9 complete circles.
Fabrics Used:
Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt.
Katie Jump Rope by Denyse Schmidt.
Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton in White.
THREAD for quilting:
Aurifil 28wt thread (the gray spool) for quilting:
 (28wt top thread - 40wt thread in the bobbin).
Batting:
Low loft cotton batting - bleached white.

Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018
Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018

Of course, it is not too late to join the Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt Along! It has only just begun and it is a no-pressure and at your leisure project, plus both Sewtopia and The Next Stitch offer useful hints/tips via email and Instagram videos for successful completion. For all the sew along details, pattern, and acrylic templates (although the acrylic templates are not a requirement, they sure are useful!) please check out the following:
Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018

And so it goes ... another quilt ticked off my bucket list. I could not be more pleased with this quilt. Thank you for scrolling through the many photos. Taking photos of a quilt with so much white fabric is tricky and I thought that as these photos turned out ok, I might as well show them!

Thank you for stopping by,
Rita

Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt | Pattern by Denyse Schmidt | © Red Pepper Quilts - September 2018

RELEVANT LINKS:
Sunday Stash - Flea Market Fancy Reprint (February 2012)
Sunday Stash - Katie Jump Rope (December 2015)
For more Freewheeling Single Girl Quilt inspiration check out the Instagram hashtag:

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

11 comments:

  1. The photos of this beauty turned out a lot more than “okay”! Every one is crisp with perfect color - I know because I have most of thos prints.

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  2. I love, love, love this quilt!! The binding and backing are the perfect compliment to the stark white background. I recently jumped on the Denyse Schimdt fabric bandwagon. Bummed out that I cannot get Katie Jump Rope.

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  3. It is absolutely perfect. Your fabric choices were perfect. I love this quilt, too!

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  4. Perfectly wonderful. You never disappoint.

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  5. I love your version of the Single Girl quilt, and the fact that you used all Denyse Schmidt's fabrics. It looks so crisp and clean.

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  6. I bought this pattern many years ago and I was never able 5o realize it because it needed so much time to cut every little piece of fabric for the circle in different size. Do I have to order a new pattern in order to make this improvised version?

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  7. Oh this is so so pretty and perky. I love the backing and the binding too. Fun happy fabric bits too

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  8. It looks magnificent. Perfect quilt for those stash fabrics. I've some older Denise Schmidt too I've been hoarding for 'that' quilt. Just not 100% sure which one yet.

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  9. My goodness, this is a beautiful finish! Are you sure you sleep?

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  10. Rita, this is just perfection! First the angles within the arcs (not so easy for me) and now how perfectly you've matched the arcs of the pieced blocks. So much inspiration here. Thanks for sharing.

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