Liam's quilt... photo taken artistically so you can't see that it appears a 3 year old made it... because he kinda did.
When I turned 30, I asked my husband to take me to Amish country and let me buy the material to make a quilt for our bed. I mean, seriously. How hard could it really be? If you can sew a straight line, you can totally quilt, right? Wrong. You have to cut in a straight line AND pin AND sew AND press AND THEN… you have to cut things like a 12.5 inch square or manhandle massive lengths of fabric and the worst part… make your own bias tape.
Sylvi's finished quilt
Quilting detail on the back... not too shabby!
So yeah. Did some cutting for that quilt and started piecing. I made a mistake, cried over it and then put the material in a drawer afraid I’d really screw it up. Along came Pinterest and I thought to myself that if I suddenly had all these patterns and tutorials, hunted down by other people with a seemingly endless amount of time on their hands, I could perhaps suck it up and try again. In December, I made Liam this super, simple (what I now call a “cheater”) quilt. It wasn’t hard. I didn’t make any mistakes really, other than to let the kids sit on my lap and “help” while I tried to sew. Also, I learned how to make bias tape and consequently wondered why on Earth I’d never so before.
Valentine's Day applique project
Roughly two weeks ago, I realized my husband’s work hours were about to get nasty and I’d be alone at home with kids who were recovering from the flu for most of January. I panicked and started hunting up projects. I went on a fabric binge and shopped for material to make dresses for Sylvi. And then, it dawned on me she needed a quilt as well. I headed out to a fabric store, with the Moda Bake Shop pattern in mind and started fabric hunting. I came home with two charm packs in the Paris Flea Market pattern, soft flannel backing, white sashing and a polka dot pattern for the binding. Last night, I sat back and looked at the finished product and felt an incredible amount of pride.
Pillow tops to be quilted for our bedroom... colors will then go with whatever we decide to use for the top quilt.
Of course, now that I have 2 major stitching projects under my belt, I feel like it’s time to try some other shapes. :) I spent another weekend in Amish country and came home loaded with dress fabrics, this pillow project and fabric to begin a quilt for my friend’s baby due later in the Spring. My Pinterest board is filled with ideas and plans for the future… I’m thinking it might be a good idea to try some mug rugs so I can get some more piecing experience.
Up Next: Cutting pieces for this baby quilt.
I get to join in on blog link ups now! I actually have a Work In Progress! I have plans and goals and lots of fabric… also, I’m stalking the mail carriers because a paper pattern should be delivered before supper today and any day now a shipment of fabric should also arrive!! Although… as a note, I’m realizing that as I scroll through all these blogs and I read the instructions, I just want to spend my time sewing so be forewarned… my home is a mess, our meals are… easy and I will probably not respond to playdate requests right now. I’m addicted to creativity!
Are you feeling crafty lately? Share what you’re working on in the comments!