Fly Fishing Quilt - Q1 Finish

This quilt is going to be given to my fly-fishing father.  Fly fishing was my dad's number one hobby growing up.  He loved it, and still does.  Even at the age of 78, he ventures out once in a while to fish.  He even braves the frigid Idaho winter weather to ice fish.

Ice Fishing with Grandpa (Dad, Anna, and Rebecca)

I saw this fabric for 75% off one day at a local quilt shop and I could not pass it up!  I didn't really think much about it, just bought some of each of the fabrics from the line.   Turns out, I really don't like a few of the fabrics much.  And as I put this quilt together it dawned on me that I should have just bought the fabrics that I liked, and then found some others to go with them.  Luckily, I am pleased with the finished product.  It is simple and masculine and will look nice in my parent's cabin. 

The fly fabric is the one that really caught my eye.  I have vivid memories of my dad tying flies -- He always had a bright lamp on so he could tie those little buggers.  And there was a particular smell.   Was it some sort of glue he used?  Or the feathers and materials?  And the amazing thing to me now is that he never seemed bothered when I came and watched/bothered him. :)  As one of 7 kids he probably often had someone looking over his shoulder.  Being a parent myself now, I recognize how patient my parents were.  

I usually prefer basics fabrics with small designs.  But I do like the scenery fabric in this line with the fishermen out on the river.  And the canoes are fun too -- my dad didn't fish from a canoe, but we do take them out on the lake once in a while.  (Well, I should say "others" take canoes out on the water.  Brian and I tried once and our steering abilities were ridiculous.)  My dad fished in those big waiter boots or in a float tube.  Totally cool.

The pattern is from a book called "Big Blocks, Big Style" by Gudrun Erla.  Fabrics are from Little Rivers by Henry Glass.  And I did quilt it myself.  The Free Motion Quilting experience is getting better every time.  Yay!

Things I learned:

1.  Buy the fabric you like...not the whole line...even if it is 75% off.  :)

2.  Pick the right pattern.  Go with your gut.  This pattern was the first I chose, but then I saw another one that I thought would be really fast.  I started with the fast pattern -- good thing it was not very time-consuming.  I think the pattern is just so simple that it made the fabric that I don't love stand out too much.  This pattern, my first choice, was just better.   

I am linking up to the 2016 Finish-A-Long Party.

You can see my list of goals for 2016 - Quarter 1 here.