Scrappy Wedding Ring Quilt

Scraps by Judy Martin

Scraps by Judy is one of my favorite books, specifically the pattern called Monet’s Wedding Ring. This variation on the Wedding Ring Quilt is created with all straight-line piecing – no curves. I used this pattern to create my oldest son and daughter-in-law’s scrappy wedding ring quilt. So much thought went into this quilt. Their house style, decor, and my son’s connection to my quilting all played a part – Scrappy Wedding Ring Quilt is perfect.

Gorgeous Autumn Colors for inspiration in a Scrappy Wedding Ring Quilt

They were married in the fall, and those gorgeous fall colors are throughout their home. I planned the scrappy fabrics based on those fall colors and the time of year they got married with a variety of yellows. Next, my son had always supported the hand-dyed part of my quilting business; so naturally, I chose to use those fabrics as the wedding rings. Scrappy hand-dyed fabrics are perfect for this wedding ring quilt.

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All kinds of Scrappy Hand-Dyed Fabrics to choose from

The process of choosing colors became much easier because I love the fall colors. I had stacks of hand-dyed fat quarters in those autumn colors.

I added some blues and purples to help balance the colors. I could have spent weeks playing with colors, but I knew that I had to get moving on this project. At this point, it was summer, and I had such grand visions of having it done for Christmas. I was definitely overly optimistic.

This Scrappy Wedding Ring Quilt and the illusion of curves

This version of the double wedding ring gives the illusion of curves without the difficulty of the curves. I love the scrappiness of the quilt. My only rule as I was piecing it was not to let the same color be together. I used a wide variety of hand-dyed fabrics (which have so much variation within each piece), so it wasn’t a struggle. My struggle was when to stop adding more variations.

Journal Time – Explaining the process to the Scrappy Wedding Ring Quilt

As I am quilting the quilt, I find myself thinking of the kids – who are no longer kids but adults. I started a journal with my reflections that I gave them along with the quilt. My son, raised with my quilting, wanted to make sure I added a label to the quilt with all the information. I also included the info in the journal, along with pictures. I KNOW that I got sappy in my journal entries, but I know they will appreciate it in the future.

I always said when I was a much younger quilter that I would never hand quilt. I didn’t think I had the patience for it; well, I was wrong. I found that I genuinely enjoyed the process of hand quilting. I used these needles and Star Thread in the Autumn colorway– and boy did I go through a lot of it!

Batting and Backing

Because the quilt was designed to fit a California Kize bed, I still needed to piece the backing. I used wool batting; it needles very easily and is lightweight but warm. The part that was harder was finding a backing fabric that was wide enough. The only time it frustrated me was when I had to quilt through that seam. Before this, I had machine quilted my quilts. I asked questions from fellow quilters on products to use for layering the quilts, basting, and quilting. I am sharing with you the products that I used – some successfully and some not so successfully.

Layering the quilt

Layering the quilt was quite the ordeal. Our tiny cabin didn’t have the room. I used our pavilion and placed several tables together. The hard part was I found it difficult to reach the center of the quilt. I am a bit height challenged. 🙂 I taped the backing to the tables (they are plastic and not wood tables – so no worry of finish coming off). I added the batting, taking extra time to smooth it out and make sure it was even. Next, I added the quilt top. I had used spray sizing and pressed it several times to help it hold its shape as I layered it.

Quilt Basting options

I used this tagging gun, and it was a lifesaver. It is my new go-to tool when finishing quilt projects. I tried to use temporary adhesive – oh, am I messy with that, and I am not crazy about the smell! I tried to use basting pins and safety pins; due to the quilt size, I struggled to keep everything even (wrinkles galore). I will save the pins for those smaller projects.

I am a big believer in fusible batting, but that would only hinder my hand quilting, and I need all the help I can get. I’ll save that batting for smaller projects that I am machine quilting. The nice part of the basting gun (tagging gun), there are options. I started with white fasteners because they came with the gun and showed up well on the quilt. I did go for a shorter fastener because there was less shifting of layers.

Using a quilt frame

Even though I basted the quilt this way, I still used a quilt frame to help keep everything straight. I used the Frank A. Edmund American Legacy frame. I ordered the smaller size because I knew hubby could create longer rails for me to use. A rolling office chair and a couple of clip-on lights, and I was ready to go. Oh wait, I also “borrowed” my husband’s clamps to help pull the quilt tight across the frame on the sides.

Now I am ready to go except, I had no idea what needles to use. Again, I went back to my quilty friends and asked for suggestions.

Quilting Needles and Quilting Threads

I found that everyone has their own brand of needles that they favor. I used a big eye John James needle in a size ten, although I had since used the size 8 and 9 when I needed to – even though they didn’t have a big eye. The big eye helps compensate for aging eyes. Even with progressive lens, I cannot see to thread the needle without a ton of light and just plain luck. With the smaller eye size, a needle threader wasn’t much help. I did find a lighted magnifying light that I used on occasion. It just wasn’t something I needed if I had good light, and it cluttered up our tiny cabin.

Have you ever used beeswax to keep your threads from tangling as easily? I did for this project, but not for the next one. In this project, I used an Autumn Variegated Star Thread. I love how the colors flowed through the quilting process. Because I wasn’t using specific quilting threads, I found that the beeswax helped keep the threads from tangling. They pulled through the layers more easily.

Quilting Stencils for an Autumn Scrappy Wedding Ring Quilt

As I looked at my quilt, I pondered how I would quilt it. With some quilts, it tells you right away how it needs to be quilted. Trying to find continuous quilt patterns was also a struggle! Then, how do I mark it? So many more questions before I could start. I had two different style quilting patterns that I used. The perfect hand quilting pattern was found for this project, but it required chalk to transfer the lines.

So Many Choices

I used the Quilt Pounce Hancy (pictured below). It served its purpose but was messy. It did wash out with no issues, so that was a plus. Next, I used Clover’s extra fine, air erasable marker. Because my quilt pattern was small, I chose the air erasable one – plus, this forced me to complete that section before the marking was gone. A little extra insurance that I would stay focused!

I would have preferred to find all continuous quilting stencils but couldn’t find what I wanted. Here are the ones that I did end up using. Continuous ones: Heart Knot, Scrolling Hearts Border, and Maple Leaves. I will have to dig out my Hancy Pounce Chalk ones. I can no longer find them on Amazon.

As I tried to get everything set up, I found two helpers holding down the fort. For some reason, my pups love to sleep under the quilting frame. If a quilt is draped over the frame and touches the floor – it won’t be long, and I’ll find it on the floor with the pups on it.

Until Next Time…

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