For the Project Quilting Challenge 2,
we were to be inspired by the hardware store.
I loved this challenge,
mostly because it made me think
about walking though the old hardware store
with my father. I never really knew
what we were supposed to be getting,
I just thought it was cool that my dad and I went together.
The inspiration for this challenge
was the rows and rows of little things all over the store.
From the paint chip aisle (do they call them paint chips anymore?)
to the nuts and bolts, to the seed packets for spring,
I loved the ordered chaos that was the hardware store.
And such colors! Everything was color coded!
I drew inspiration for the fabric choice
from the colors I found throughout the store.
One of my critiques for the last challenge
was that my binding was terrible.
(Which it was.)
So I worked really hard on my binding for this piece.
I followed a couple of tutorials,
and am still not 100% pleased with it,
but am happier then I was last time.
I guess I am learning that proves
that quilting is always a work in progress.
So, I made a ticker-tape quilt.
First I decided on the size and made a quilt sandwich.
Then I picked the sizes of the pieces
(1 inch squares, 1x2 inch rectangles and 2 inch squares – sooo small!)
and then I pined them to the backing.
I wanted to make sure the colors looked random
so I moved things around until just right.
Then I machine sewed on top of the pieces.
Once I finished that, I cut some of the fraying off,
left a bit of it for that “rough” hardware store look,
and began to place the nuts and bolts I purchased.
I used regular jam nuts on the smallest squares,
wing nuts on the rectangles and Lock washers
(something I found to be beautiful in and of themselves)
for the larger squares.
I spread them out over the quilt using clear thread.
I think it makes the squares look like
the little packages of hardware at the store.
My hardware store quilt,
“Little Mrs. Fix-It” turned out to be beautiful
and quite fun to make! I hope you enjoy.
