My ex-colleague Grace Hill asked me to make a quilt for her soon to be daughter-in-law. I resisted at first but gave in finally. Her soon to be daughter-in-law asked for dogs and sea otters in colors of aqua and turquoise! Luckily I found dog and sea otter fabrics that fit the bill. She also wanted queen bed size! Because of the size, I selected an easy pattern with simple rectangles that would feature the dog and sea otter fabrics. The pattern is called “Kyoto Steps.” I don’t know why and the artist’s website gave no reason for the name. Maybe the pattern is named after a site in Kyoto, Japan or maybe a jazz music group? I like the way the rectangles are more dense in the center and space out at the edges. However, the asymmetrical placement and spacing meant I had to keep the pattern close by and piecing proceeded slowly, but easily. The good news (if you can call it that!) about this assignment is that Covid postponed the wedding, so I wasn’t rushed to finish the quilt.
The pattern called for pressing the seams open. I used the seam roll Mother made for a class around the time I was born. It worked like a charm. If the seam roll was opened you’d find a magazine my age (70 years) inside. That’s pretty good longevity for a homemade sewing tool.
For the quilting I used my new side edge clamps. They worked beautifully. This was also the first test drive of my new Towa bobbin tension gauge. I loved the gauge and it made adjusting the quilting tension much easier and more accurate. I was also impressed that the Towa box prominently features the “Deming Award” given to the manufacturer. Deming was the person whose methods created the Japanese auto industry’s reputation for quality. Deming’s “quality circles” used to be a big deal and made their way into lots of industries, including pharmaceutical manufacturing where I worked for many years. Seeing the picture of the “Deming Award” on the box was a blast from the past!
- 97” x 94 1/4" queen-sized bed (slightly wider than long, but essentially square)
- Quilted in parallel wavy lines across width of quilt. Used “Pearl White” Omni brand 100% polyester from Superior Threads. Free form quilting. 9 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
- Backing: Tonal turquoise vine print with a center panel printed with dogs looking over a fence. Fabrics came from fabric.com.
- Batting: 80% cotton/20% polyester bleached, Hobbs Heirloom.
- Binding: Plain turquoise cotton used in the quilt.
- Pattern: "Kyoto Steps” by Robin Pickens
- Piecing by Patty
- Pinned into frame June 22, 2021. Quilting on long arm quilter June 23-25, 2021. (Patty).
- Binding by Patty.
- QC by Spencer
