Sunday, November 6, 2016

Climb Jacob's Ladder to Reach the Wild Kingdom


Wild Kingdom
48 x 60

This will go into an emergency/survival car kit for one of my kid's for Christmas.  I'm making a kit for each of my adult children to keep in their rickety old cars.  (You can find lots of suggestions on-line on what to include in the kits.) 


I've made quilts in the past with the Jacob's Ladder block. I love all the secondary patterns. Sometimes you can see X, sometimes diamonds, sometimes stars. 


I started making these blocks a long time ago to use up some of the HSTs and 4 patches I had in the "parts department".   I picked out ones that had animals and some jungle type foliage or were just plain ugly.   Dogs, monkeys, elephants, flamingos, rhinos, cats, ants, giraffes, fox...they are all there in the Wild Kingdom. 


Unfortunately, after I assembled about 6 blocks I decided I hated them. Why? Because the values were all over the place.  I guess that shows me the value of value when making a quilt. 


But I decided no sense in keeping it a UFO and was going to make a donation quilt. Then I came up with the idea to make the emergency/survival car kits for Christmas (for my adult children who are never prepared and don't even wear a proper winter coat on the coldest of winter days) and thought if a quilt was going to be hidden away in a rickety old car might as well include the ugly ones in the kits. 




I used an old flannel sheet (aka stray thread magnet) for the backing and quilted it on my DSM with some diagonal lines using brown thread in the bobbin and neutral thread on top.   I had more than enough black binding in the leftover bindings box (strange since I don't remember binding anything in black) to complete the quilt.  



19 comments:

Gretchen Weaver said...

Not all quilts have to be 'beautiful'. If it would have been lovely, you would probably be upset with your children keeping it in the trunk. What a great idea for Christmas presents. Blessings, Gretchen villacrestfarm@gmail.com

The Joyful Quilter said...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think this quilt is AWESOME!! Ever a fan of Jacob's Ladder quilts. Even the ones with low contrast!

Toni Macomb said...

I too find this quilt quite appealing. And the idea of the Christmas gift is a great one!

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

I love this quilt and all of its scrappy goodness! It will be a great car quilt and hope it also comes out for picnics! Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!

gayle said...

I think it has a wonderful old-timey look, and love the fact that it's a gift from Mom - "There! Stay warm! Where's your sweater?!?" 8)

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

That's such a great idea! I may have to borrow it and do something simillar for my kids. I love crazy scrappy quilts like that because you never know what you're going to "spy" when you look at it.

Ariane said...

I love this quilt. This is a great idea for a Christmas gift!!

Crystal_235 said...

Love this quilt! I need to look into making a car kit for my car.

Ann said...

Jacob's Ladder is one of my favorite quilt blocks. This is a great use for your old tops. Congratulations on good idea.

Janie said...

Jacob's Ladder is so classic and cool. You've worked the contrast just right. Great finish.

Quilter Kathy said...

What a terrific idea for gifts!

Kaja said...

What a clever idea - I love the thought of a quilt in the car in case of emergencies (though unlike your children I always have a huge warm coat!)

Quiltdivajulie said...

Uglies or not, this is a great quilt with a marvelous purpose in life.

Nann said...

What a great gift idea! And, of course, an ideal reason to make a quilt out of miscellaneous parts.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Oh I really like it - and it is a great idea - I have one in my car too - I put fleece on the back ( cuz I get cold) and they teased me at first - but I notice EVERYONE declares an emergency and take my quilt!

Carla A Few Of My Favorite Things said...

Love this pattern! They are fun blocks to make. What a great idea for a gift. Hopefully they will never need to use it!!!

maggie fellow said...

And should they ever need the quilt in an emergency, those fun scraps will give them a smile and something to occupy their mind from worry for a minute - great quilt

Nicky said...

It is a great idea but I do hope it is never needed for an emergency. What a great way to protect your children. Congratulations on the finish and thank you for participating in the 2016FAL, on behalf of all the hosts!

Unknown said...

Hi I would love to buy a big newborn animal kingdom quilt for my friend who is going to be a grandmother in the next month. The baby is a boy. We, (grandma and I are on disability income). Hopefully I will be able to afford to buy one. I look forward to you getting back to me either way you decide. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Lori McDonald. psdmcdonald@ gmail.com