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Monday, March 25, 2019

Seafarer

Introducing a new lap/twin quilt, Seafarer


Seafarer string quilt by QuiltFabrication






























It's an ocean of string beauty!

The design for Seafarer, using the concept of strings to depict an ocean with a lone sailboat, was dreamed up at around 4 in the morning. Yes, I'm usually awake that early, either creating, or getting ready to go for a swim. 


sailboat block in the Seafarer quilt by QuiltFabrication



Scraps and yardage were pulled from the stash, and a few string blocks made to see if my vision was going to work. Below is the sneak peek of the beginnings of Seafarer that I showed before.


beginning ocean blocks for the Seafarer quilt

Still undecided as to whether this would be a baby quilt, or a bigger lap/twin size, I continued making more blocks, and adding the sailboat to the design wall.


more quilt blocks for the Seafarer quilt

Then it hit me - the reality that my son was leaving within weeks for a 27 month tour with the Peace Corps. Since he had already asked to take a quilt with him, Seafarer would be perfect for him - a lap/twin size it would be!

Since Seafarer was still in the works, he got to choose the batting, a soft 80/20, and also the backing. For that, I happened to have 4-5 yards of an aqua/blue flannel purchased years ago, just waiting for a water themed project. Perfect!


sailboat and flannel backing on the Seafarer quilt

Quilting was a fast and easy freehand wave design, done in around 2 hours.


freehand wave quilting on the Seafarer quilt

We had fun tossing around names for this quilt - my favorite from him was "Damn it, does this ocean ever end???"  But that's quite long, so we chose the more simpler, Seafarer. It suits his adventurous spirit, and the unknown experiences yet to discover. 

Will I miss him? Yes, but he's a young man now, ready to set off on an adventure of life after college. Twenty-seven months may seem like a long time, but it will pass quickly, and I know that an awesome man will come back. And ya, I'll miss the quilt too.

If you're also in love with Seafarer, the multi-size pattern is available in my QuiltFabrication Etsy shop.

Happy String Quilting!


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49 comments:

  1. Oh, Susan, you always are full of inspiration. This is perfect for your son and I wish him well. Thank you for playing along in the All About Strings Blog Hop. This is a super quilt and the colors are amazing.

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  2. Wow now that's some pretty blues...Great idea tyty for sharing your talents with us...

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  3. Wow, you made a beautiful quilt. My reaction to this just now was thinking of the big cruise ship with American tourists having problems in the big waves right outside our coast line, not far away from here. Such a dangerous situation, but everything went well in the end.

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  4. A-maz-ing! And I love the addition of the sailboat in the big ocean.

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  5. Very nice. My favourite colour blue. I am sure this will be a treasured quilt.

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  6. Beautiful quilt!! I love the look of movement in the blocks and the quilting. It will be something special for him to treasure while he's away, and you're sending a part of you with him!
    Good luck!

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  7. What a beautiful quilt! I absolutely love all the blue with the boat standing out in it. Such a lovely piece for your son to treasure while he is gone!

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  8. I love the idea of a uniform color string quilt with an applique! Best wishes for your sons adventure.

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  9. I love this quilt! Good luck to your son in his endeavors.

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  10. This is a gorgeous quilt. I love how this came to be and that it is for your son and he helped. It is a difficult time when our kiddos head off as adults. We have prepared them as much as possible. But it also is wonderful to see them come into their own as young adults. quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

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  11. I love your quilt. My son, also, went to the Peace Corp after college. I thought it was a long 27 months, but he brought home a bride, so that was a life changing event. Of course, he loved Africa so much, he took a job there, so now I really miss him!!

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  12. You are very creative and this turned into a beautiful quilt!

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  13. The colors are wonderful, and the setting is perfect - you don't have to match anything up! And the boat is so symbolic. How exciting for your son to have this experience. Hopefully he'll have some internet connections so you can keep in touch.

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  14. Love, love, love your quilt in my favorite colors and sailboat. Great work, and best of luck to your son!

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  15. That is just beautiful! That boat is just perfect on your sea that never ends ( ha ha)

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  16. Awesome quilt Susan! How great that your son gets such an appropriate quilt to take with him. He can wrap himself in your quilty love each night. It is a gorgeous quilt and I love the blues and the quilting is perfect. You always do such nice work!

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  17. It's fabulous!! I think it might be my favorite quilt of yours. SEW perfect for your son's upcoming adventure! I'm sure he is pleased with his gift. Way to go, Mom!!

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  18. I love your first name for the quilt. LOL!! That really hit my funny bone this morning. What a gorgeous quilt that does fit it's name (both of them).
    Congrats to your son for his new adventure. What a special time for him.

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  19. This is an awesome design, Susan. You always come up with the neatest ideas.

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  20. You have a wonderful imagination and color sense. I love all your quilts! Your son will take a part of you on his trip.

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  21. What a lovely string quilt! I think of string quilts as scrappy and with a lot of contrast. Yours is scrappy and almost one color and has a cool theme. Best wishes to your son.

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  22. Very pretty. I love those blues and the sailboat. Very nautical and original.

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  23. It's PERFECT!! I just happened to finish reading the book called 438 days about a fisherman stranded at sea for 438 days and he survived. This reminds me of that book. Great job! Perfect backing and quilting for it.

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  24. Love Seafarer!! The colors are my favorites and I love the way your strings actually look like the ocean. Your son will have a quilty hug from mom while he is gone as well...WIN!!! It is hard to have our babies leave for long periods of time, but you are right, the time does go by so fast.

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  25. This is really beautiful and your quilting totally adds to the ocean effect...love it! I'm sure this will be a treasure for your son on his 27 month journey.

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  26. What a great gift for your son. So creative which has given me a few ideas of my own.

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  27. Hi Susan! What a lovely quilt and a wonderful way to send off your son. Wish him safe travels for me. He will learn so much and have exciting experiences, yet he'll have a wonderful reminder of you to keep with him. He can wrap himself in your love any time he wishes, and it will feel just like a real hug. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  28. I absolutely love your quilt! Let me count the ways: string blocks, ocean theme, fabulous use of color AND stash fabric, the quilting, the lone boat venturing off ona new adventure (much like your son!), and your positive upbeat attitude! Fabulous post!

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  29. Oh my goodness, this is beautiful Susan. What a great inspiration and so creative. I bet your son loves it. Who wouldn't, it's a great quilt.

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  30. Love your string quilt variation...this is a wonderful idea for your sons quilt and you achived a much envied (meaning me) design...

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  31. I absolutely love this. Will this be a pattern in your etsy store? I would love to have it.

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  32. What a beautiful qult and fun to have it going off with your son. Kudos to you!

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  33. This is amazing. There's so much movement...I can't believe it's made from string blocks. Wow.

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  34. I LOVE it!! One of the best I have seen so far! Love the water.

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  35. I love it! The light to dark values looks so pretty and the sailboat is fabulous.

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  36. That is definitely a wow quilt and perfect for your grandson.

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  37. Hi Susan, that's a really great quilt - using scraps but not scrappy. I love your son's name for it - that really how it is when you're in the middle of the ocean. All the best to him on his adventure!

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  38. I love your quilt. Thank you for sharing.

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  39. This is a wonderful quilt design and what an adventure it will have travelling with your son.

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  40. Such a beautiful quilt and I am glad you knew it was going to go with him so you could sew your love and prayers in every string. Thanks so much for sharing with us. Good luck to your son.

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  41. Love this quilt! The movement in the quilt really captures the ocean currents! Fabulous!

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  42. This is a beautiful, beautiful quilt Good luck to your son on his adventures!

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Thank you so much for commenting...you just made my day!