Elk in the Pines I and II

These are my Elk in the Pines quilts.  I made them to give to the grandpas in our family for Father's Day.  They are both men who love the outdoors.  (We have some beautiful mountains in Utah!)  They have both told me that they use them all the time.  I feel that is the highest compliment for something I create.  :D 

They are the April mystery quilt at Stitches and Sew Forth.  They are from the Elk Ridge collection by Riley Blake.  The original tutorial used a 12 x 6 inch finished piece and two 6 x 6 inch finished pieces for each block.  I changed it up by having the blocks made up of a 12 x 6 inch finished piece, a 4 x 6 inch finished piece, and a 8 x 6 inch piece.  This makes the blocks more like a turning twenty quilt, and has less points to match.  I also only used the large elk prints in the bigger pieces. 

Here is the first one.  It is for my dad.  I backed it in an elk flannel print. 

Here is a close-up. 

Here is the second one.  It is for my father-in-law.  I backed it in an elk quilting cotton. 

Oh, wait!  The wind was really blowing.  Hi, Hubby. 

That is better.  (Thank you, Hubby, for holding the corner.)  Now, here is a close-up. 

I decided to have fun and pose the quilts on my new patio furniture. 

The quilts actually match my furniture well. 

I really felt like I was sewing snakes to the quilts when I added on the binding. 

I asked my husband if he thought it looked like snakes, and he said, "Coral snakes don't have that many colors."  He is very practical.  ;)

I still think it looks like snakes.  I hate snakes, but I do love stripy bindings! 

Here is a peek at the labels I added to the quilts.  (I blocked out the personal information and message.) 

Here is a picture of the backings.  You can really see the stipple I quilted them with on the backs.  I used an Aurifil 40 weight thread.  (Normally I use 50.)  It worked very well. 

And here is one last picture of the two quilts together. 

I would like to thank my hubby for hanging up the clothes line on our deck.  The only purpose it serves is for hanging quilts for pictures.  The nice thing is that I can take pictures of quilts without any helpers (when it isn't windy).  He really is so supportive.  He is definitely a keeper!

Quilt Stats #68-69

Name:  Elk in the Pines I and II

Pattern: altered from this tutorial

Size:  about 60 x 72

Batting:  Hobbs 80/20

Date finished: 2013

What I learned:

• Aurifil 40 weight worked well for machine quilting.
• It is nice to change things up on patterns. 
• Stripy bindings are awesome (but sometimes seem like snakes!)
• Mystery quilts are not my favorite.  (I like more control.)

XX,

Jasmine