Tie One On

Project Quilting Challenge #8 – Tie One On

My first thought when I saw this week’s challenge theme was ZZ Top’s Sharp Dressed Man (thank you for the link, Kim, and it’s amazing how many times I heard ZZ Top on the radio this week!) Beyond 80’s rock, I was kind of stumped for inspiration, but I think my mind wandered in directions similar to many of the other contributors:

Sharp Dressed Man
Man in Uniform
Military Uniform
Navy dress blues
Mariner’s Compass

This train of thought got me to a sufficiently quilty place, and I’ve always wanted to play around with mariner’s compass designs, so I stopped pondering and got to work looking through my patterns and books.

As I reviewed mariner’s compass blocks I got a little worried about having enough time to finish an intricate block, but this pattern seemed to tick all the boxes. To me, it reads like a simplified mariner’s compass and as a bonus also reminds me of men’s ties.

What a great skill-building project this turned out to be! I typically avoid Y-seams and templates like the plague, and this is a template pattern full of Y-seams. I had to rip out the first section because I didn’t even have the pieces oriented properly. Section two required ripping but was smoother. Sections three and four went together so easily it was almost scary. Then I relaxed and, well, a number of the background sections needed ripping. It’s true – Y-seams aren’t all that bad, you just have to find the groove and don’t get cocky!

So – as I mentioned, the cranberry and cream sections remind me of a man’s tie. The gray diamonds are waves and surf in recognition of the naval inspiration. Back years ago when I bought the border fabric I thought it looked like buttons – still do. There are lots of well-dressed man influences here for me. Thanks to my friend Wendy for the title. About the cleverest I could be was “Sharp Dressed Sofa,” which really isn’t all that clever.

Pillow measures 18” square, machine quilted top, envelope-style back. My name is Sue L and I quilt in West Hartford, Connecticut.

Oh, and the pattern is from Jen Kingwell’s book Quilt So Lovely. Any and all construction problems were the fault of my technical skill (or lack thereof), not the pattern.

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