Darwin’s Quilt

Meet Darwin the dapple Chi-weenie (Chihuahua x Dachsund) he is the muse for this quilt.  Actually the quilt is a Christmas present for his ‘parents’ Chris and Michelle our son and daughter-in-law.  I saw a quilt like this on Pinterest and thought it would make a great lap quilt.  I couldn’t find a pattern for it anywhere so I just made up my own based on the picture and the finished dimensions I wanted to the quilt to be.

I started out with the first group of fabrics.  After Don did a little convert Detective work when he was visiting the kids in late September, I managed to get a few more pictures and video of Darwin.  I quickly realized that I needed much more grey/black fabric and not so much brown.  So after several trips to local quilt shops I assembled the second group of fabrics.  I decided to cut all the pieces that made up Darwin as well as the background pieces that fit around him.  I wanted to figure out the best way to assemble them in order to make ‘blocks’ that fit together.  Darwin and the background are starting to take shape:

I was hoping to use a lighter background so that there would be more contrast between it and Darwin but I couldn’t find a fabric a liked.  I picked this darker blue with golden paw prints on it to keep with the doggie theme.

I like to try something new on every quilt I make.  On Darwin I tried trapunto for the first time.  I wanted his body to stand out from the background.

I finally got him on the longarm at the end of November just in time for Christmas.  I used a smallish floral swirl FMQ design to help push the dark fabric into the background and let Darwin be the star of the quilt.

And finally all finished.  I used a cute dog print on the back and binding.

Update: 2014AUG08

I’ve entered this quilt in the Pets on Quilt Show @Lilypad Quilting