Jungle Shadows
I'm excited to share a finish with you today! I designed this quilt for my husband and gave it to him for Christmas. It was a fantastic surprise!
When I saw the Parrot line of batiks by Hoffman, I knew they needed to be a quilt for Ben someday. His favorite color is green, and there is such a nice variety in this line. It also includes some blues and browns that add depth to the finished quilt.
I bought the fabric long before I had a plan of what I wanted to do with it. I was actually working on a completely different quilt design when I came up with this block. I decided it would be perfect for Ben's quilt.
I finally started cutting in February of 2016. Whenever I could get away from the house for a quilt retreat or a sew day with friends, this was my project. I would spend most of the time working on this, and then pull out something else for the last hour or two. When I got home, I would show Ben the progress on the decoy project. He was never the least bit suspicious that I hadn't gotten more done.
Once the top was finished, I needed to work on the back. I wanted to piece the back, so it took a fair amount of time. I was able to complete it at my quilt guild's retreat in October.
This is my favorite back that I have made. I really like that it forms its own design. I'm realizing now that this back could be a quilt pattern on its own, especially if I used more modern fabrics.
The biggest challenge in making this quilt was quilting and binding it without getting caught by my husband. My quilting machine is in the living room, so I had to make sure I quilted it on a day I was certain he wouldn't come home and catch me. Binding was also a challenge because I had to do that at home in order to be done in time for Christmas.
The quilting design I chose was Modern Curves 2 by Anita Shakelford. Ben sees most of the quilts that I quilt for my customers, and this is one of the only quilting designs he has commented about liking. A month or two after that comment, I asked him if he had a favorite design that I had quilted, and he said this one. I knew it would look good on the quilt, so that decided it.
I am a big believer that no quilt is finished until it is labeled. The label on this quilt says:
Jungle Shadows
Made with love for my wonderful husband, Ben Bridgeman.
Designed, pieced, and quilted by Bobbi Bridgeman.
Merry Christmas, my love.
www.snowydaysquilting.com
Galatin Gateway,
Montana
2016
I'm really proud of myself for keeping this a secret and surprising Ben with it. He never saw so much as a scrap of fabric from this quilt before I gave it to him. I'm not sure if he was more impressed with the quilt, or that I had managed to be so sneaky! He completely loves it, and he sleeps with it most nights.
Have you ever made a surprise quilt? I would love to hear about it! I truly appreciate all of your comments. If you leave your email address when you comment, I will be sure to thank you personally.
I'm linking up with:
Finish It Up Friday
Whoop Whoop Fridays
Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday