DIY Weekend...2 top quilts

**mangus7175** · 06-30-2012, 23:07

Decided to break out the thread injector and make me some top quilts. Both made with polyester batting (don't have down yet

). First quilt done and weighs in at 2.3 lbs and I'm assuming it should be good for 40 degrees. Second quilt still in progress and my goal is to hit less than 2 lbs.

Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone here for sharing their tips and tricks...it has really taught me a lot and I couldn't have completed these "practice" quilts without the great minds of HF

Attached are some pics.

**Fish<><** · 07-01-2012, 06:26

Looks pretty good, probably better than I can do. I am just starting the adventure into sewing. 2.3 lbs is quite the load, but once you do make one from down you should significantly lighten your load. Take care.

**mangus7175** · 07-01-2012, 13:14

Originally Posted by Fish<><

Looks pretty good, probably better than I can do. I am just starting the adventure into sewing. 2.3 lbs is quite the load, but once you do make one from down you should significantly lighten your load. Take care.

2.3lbs is bearable but yes, if I had some down, I can probably drop it to close to a pound.

Second quilt is done and came out lighter. I found a local source that had loose poly fill used on synthetic bags and was able to get 3 pounds worth of fill for $5. The second quilt looks a lot better and has quite a bit of loft. Total weight was 1lb. 15oz.

Really happy how these two quilts came out...can't wait to get some down and give that a go.

Top view

Inside view

Loft...

Total weight (not too bad for synthetic fill)

**SoCal Mike** · 07-04-2012, 16:54

Looks good, Angus. You're pretty handy with the stitchin', my friend. Have a great summer.

Michael
(SoCal Mike)

**DiscoveryDiver** · 07-04-2012, 18:13

They look great!

**MAD777** · 07-04-2012, 21:23

Good work!

**mangus7175** · 07-05-2012, 00:37

Originally Posted by SoCal Mike

Looks good, Angus. You're pretty handy with the stitchin', my friend. Have a great summer.

Michael
(SoCal Mike)

Thanks Michael..we still need to plan a trip. I have two coming up in August and September.

Originally Posted by DiscoveryDiver

They look great!

I appreciate that...thanks so much.

Originally Posted by MAD777

Good work!

Thanks, but they're not as great as your quilts

. I am planning on making another quilt, this time using M90 and down - aiming to get it under a pound.

**SoCal Mike** · 07-05-2012, 09:57

[QUOTE=mangus7175;762391]Thanks Michael..we still need to plan a trip. I have two coming up in August and September.

I saw the trips and was interested in the Little Jimmy trip, but....I broke my collar bone on Sunday during a mountain bike ride. I'm going to need at least 4 weeks to recover from that. Then I have to be sure I can handle a backpack on the shoulder. Totally ruined my summer. I'm going to try to do lots of walking to keep my legs in decent shape, but it'll be a while before I'm backpacking. When I am ready, though, a short test trip might be in order. Maybe early October? Since I'm a lightweight backpacker maybe I will be able to return sooner. Let's hope. I'll be nagging you for a get together around then.

Michael

**mangus7175** · 07-05-2012, 11:13

Originally Posted by SoCal Mike

I saw the trips and was interested in the Little Jimmy trip, but....I broke my collar bone on Sunday during a mountain bike ride. I'm going to need at least 4 weeks to recover from that. Then I have to be sure I can handle a backpack on the shoulder. Totally ruined my summer. I'm going to try to do lots of walking to keep my legs in decent shape, but it'll be a while before I'm backpacking. When I am ready, though, a short test trip might be in order. Maybe early October? Since I'm a lightweight backpacker maybe I will be able to return sooner. Let's hope. I'll be nagging you for a get together around then.

Michael

Ouch...I hope you have a fast recovery. On October, I am working on a trip that you may like. I was thinking of checking out Willow Creek in San Jacinto...5 miles from the Humber Park trailhead. Still doing my research but it looks like a great place to check out. I'll keep you posted for sure...hopefully I'll have my new quilt done and I can further drop my base weight from 11lbs to less than 10lbs and finally have UL status

**SoCal Mike** · 07-05-2012, 13:59

Originally Posted by mangus7175

Ouch...I hope you have a fast recovery. On October, I am working on a trip that you may like. I was thinking of checking out Willow Creek in San Jacinto...5 miles from the Humber Park trailhead. Still doing my research but it looks like a great place to check out. I'll keep you posted for sure...hopefully I'll have my new quilt done and I can further drop my base weight from 11lbs to less than 10lbs and finally have UL status

That sounds good. I was just up at Humber Park/Willow Creek a few weeks ago with SoCal Backpackers. It's a great area. Humber to Willow Creek is a good hike along the Devil's Slide, a decent challenge but not too difficult. Will be chilly in Oct. I was going to be in San Jacinto next weekend until my accident.

Sub-10 lbs with a hammock set up is pretty darn good. Don't know if I'll reach that anytime soon, but it's a goal. I'm around 12 lbs base weight. Now that my collar bone is busted I may rethink my hammock set up to drop some weight. My DIY set up is much lighter than my other set ups and now I'm looking into a DIY diamond tarp to cut even more weight.

Let's stay in touch.

Michael