Quilting and Stuff by Knitnoid

Category Archives: Dwr

Double Wedding Ring Quilt

Double Wedding Ring

This is my Double Wedding Ring (DWR) Quilt – or what I’ve got done so far.

In September 1989 I signed up to take a Double Wedding Ring quilt class. I had previously made my first quilt in 1980 and I had been sewing for nearly 15 years, so I figured I could make this quilt with proper instruction.

The quilt was originally to be finished for our 5th wedding anniversary, which was 14 months away. I thought this was extremely do-able, although the ladies at the quilt shop had doubts since I didn’t have much had next to no quilting experience.

We used Mary Ellen Ingle Hopkins’ book The Double Wedding Ring Book.

I had no experience picking out multiple fabrics for a quilt. I knew I wanted blue and burgundy. The ladies at the shop had to guide me toward texture, print size and color value.

The class met at least twice, maybe more — at this point I can’t remember. I do remember an experienced quilter, who had made a DWR, taking the class. She said she was taking the class to ‘force’ her to get the quilt underway. It seems it was to be a wedding gift and the wedding was just two or three weeks away!

Anyway, I enjoyed the class. By the end of the class I had two rows sewn together. I continued to work on the quilt after the class was over for a while. However, life got in the way of completing it. We moved the following summer and the quilt got packed up. It was not finished for our 5th anniversary.

We moved a couple of more times and I would pull it out and work on it for a bit. My next goal was to finish it for our 10th anniversary, then 15th, and 20th. Well, it’s still not finished.

I really want to finish this quilt for our 25th anniversary — 15 months from now. Again I think this is do-able — probably more so now than it was then. To that goal my intermediate goal is to get the top done by mid-October so I can put it on the quilting frame. Yes, I want to hand quilt this top.

So I’ve got to get piecing. Here’s my most recent problem.

A combination of bad cutting and seam allowances. The arc on the bottom was cut out with scissors. The one on the top is an arc I ripped apart and re-cut using a rotary cutter and the templates my friend’s husband made me. That’s nearly 3/4 of an inch difference at the top of the arc. No wonder the newly cut pieces weren’t going together well. I’ve checked and the new arc is the right length, so I think I’m on the right path.

I’ll post my progress. Perhaps this time I won’t get distracted.

Mid-August Update


Here it is mid-August and time for an update on my August goals.

  • At least 2 sets of blocks for the SBS Brown/Blue Swap Done 8/9
  • Keep up with the SBS BOW – 3 blocks done, 2 more to be announced
  • Finish star blocks to go with birthday swap blocks Done 8/7
  • Work on Josh’s quilt – spent 1 night hand quilting
  • Make up mind about applique on table runner – still deciding
  • Work on DWR – top needs to be done by mid-October – got my templates today — Thanks Mark!
  • Make rest of Birthday Swap Blocks (4 more needed) Done 8/12
  • Quilt a baby quilt to get a finish! Replaced with new goal
  • Keep scraps cut up – so far so good

    But what’s that picture of Kansas Troubles fabric doing at the top of this post? Well, this is how my goals change. Although the last block for the Kansas Spirit BOM at Heritage Fine Fabrics won’t be picked up until October, the fabric for the finishing kits need to be ordered now. And in order to know how much fabric to order, I’ve got to write up the instructions. I’ve got the easy part (for me) of the instructions written (setting blocks and triangles) so I now I get to test it. That’s bounced the baby quilt off my list. Oh and did I mention, that once I got the star blocks done, I decided I had to sew them together into a top?

    So for the remainder of the month:

  • Keep up with the SBS BOW
  • Work on Josh’s quilt
  • Make up mind about applique on table runner
  • Work on DWR
  • Finish at least center of birthday swap block quilt (will need to buy border fabric)
  • Finish Kansas Spirit Top and pattern instructions
  • Keep scraps cut up.
  • August 2009 Quilting Goals

    When it comes to quilting, I’m all over the place as far as getting things done. I’ll say I want to finish XYZ, but then I’ll get distracted by something else — and it’s not always new fabric or a new quilt.

    So, I think I’m going to start listing my goals here on my blog, as well as a large printout by my computer, to see if it helps.

    So, in no particular order, here are my August 2009 Quilting Goals

  • At least 2 sets of blocks for the SBS Brown/Blue Swap
    (5 sets are needed by mid-Octber, 1 set is already done)
  • Keep up with the SBS BOW
  • Finish star blocks to go with birthday swap blocks
    (10 done, 10 more needed-block kits already cut)
  • Work on Josh’s quilt
    (5 1/2 blocks to hand quilt, and machine quilt the borders)
  • Make up mind about applique on table runner
  • Work on DWR – top needs to be done by mid-October
  • Make rest of Birthday Swap Blocks (4 more needed)
  • Quilt a baby quilt to get a finish!
  • Keep scraps cut up

  • QD is Home and I’m Hand Quilting?

    I got a call from the repair shop today saying QD could come home! She’s cleaned and had two new light bulbs — and she’s still out in the car. I’ve got Miss Genie sitting in her spot and have gotten distracted with a bit of HAND QUILTING.

    I don’t hand quilt, like I don’t hand applique. But both are changing. Several years ago I took a hand quilting class with the intention of learning to hand quilt so I could hand quilt my double wedding ring (DWR) quilt – the one that’s still not pieced.

    Over the last two weeks, I got to thinking that I need to practice my hand quilting before I start on the DWR. Meanwhile, my nephew’s quilt still needs to have the pieced blocks quilted, and I haven’t figured out how/what to quilt. These two thoughts resulted in deciding to finish up the blocks on the quilt by hand.

    There are 15 pieced blocks. Hopefully by the time I get to the last block, my quilting will be decent and I’ll have found a style that works for me. It’s slow going at the moment — I think I’ve only gotten through 1/8th of the first block so far.

    2007 Main Street Stripers BOM