Guys, I'm Getting Better At This!

I saw the idea for this quilt in a book I got out of the library (how awesome is the library, right?).  I have this great robot/space fabric that I haven't figured out something fun to do with it- well, a picture from Piece in the Hoop gave me an idea (which is pretty odd, since I don't piece in a hoop...).  It's a little small (around 26x32) and there are a few little imperfections so I can't sell it (it's going to Project Linus), but I just love it, so I'm going to make it again and also use different fabric and try to sell them.  This is my favorite I've made yet!

Here are pictures documenting the quilt.

  

 

 

 

  

Finished!

 

Front

 

Back

New Wave Quilt (finally!)

I know I've been talking about this quilt for forever- well, it's finally done (I really hate that pesky binding, so I've been holding off on that)!

It's not as great as I wanted it to be, but I did learn a lot from it (mostly about binding):

• Do not cut the binding too small- this will cause all kinds of problems!
• At this point in my learning, there's not such thing as too many pins.  Once I get better, then I can cut back.
• Don't get too excited that the quilt is almost done and rush through the binding- the slower the better.

 

This is by far the largest quilt that I have ever made.  It was hard working on this scale towards the end, so I'm going to focus on smaller quilts for a little bit until I get more comfortable with the binding and quilting.

The front - I didn't measure, but to give an idea for size- this is on my queen size bed.

Back

3 Project Linus Projects

While practicing some easier quilting techniques, I decided to make a simple square quilt- working on exact cutting, stitching without pinning, quilting, and attaching binding.  I cut a 4.5" square of each patterned fabric I have and am pairing it with a purple/blue cotton that I was given during wrap on Taking Woodstock.  I have a ton of it and this seemed like a fitting use, seeing as the theme is leftovers.  I drew a little diagram (pattern?) so that there is some sort of structure to the quilt and it's not totally random.

I stitched the first 4 rows, but am still in need of some more squares, so I'm taking a little break.  Hopefully there will be a scrap box or super clearance section at Joann's this weekend (yay trip to Connecticut!)  So far so good, but I can't really tell if this is going to pan out the way I want since the fabrics, while in the same color family, are not identical.  I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I also finished two other blankets for Project Linus.  One is just a basic baby blanket.  The front is Alexander Henry fabric and the back is just a Joann's design.  Pretty cute though.

                          

The second one I finished was for the sole purpose of practicing.  It's made out of leftover fabric and some striped fabric that I had.  I tried to do some different things than I have done before and practiced that pesky binding.  There are obviously a lot of imperfections, but I hope some little boy will love it anyway.

Early Delivery!

Last weekend I was in Ohio for a wedding and my mother was nice enough to drive two hours to have lunch with me.  In her trunk were two huge boxes she found in the attic- one was labeled "Fabric/Batting" and other, unlabeled.  She told me to look through them and decide if I wanted them or if she should get rid of them.  Talk about a find!  There was a huge box of fabric from when I first started sewing in college.  Back then I was obsessed with making pajama pants for anyone who wanted a pair and tiny clothes for my cement goose, Ferdinand.  In the boxes were yards and yards of silly cotton fabric, some cut in the shape of pajama pants that were never finished, there were bandannas from our late dog Lily, vintage hats I purchased at a theatre sale, some disgusting poly batting from my pillow making days, and some super weird fabric from a play I designed years ago.  There was too much stuff to travel back with me, so my mom generously offered to mail me a box of fabric.  It was supposed to arrive Wednesday (I've been going crazy waiting for it to arrive), but guess what came in the mail today?!  Yay!  Most of the fabric is very novelty and will be used for kids quilts for Project Linus.

Today also marked my first time I attempted to quilt on a machine and not by tying little embroidery floss or yarn at the corner of each box.  It wasn't a completely botched attempt, but I ran into some difficulties.  (I should mention, I do not have a walking foot.)

Here's what I learned:

• Machine quilting is much harder than the YouTube video I watched made it look.
• Spray adhesive may be the best invention of all time.
• I need a lot more practice at this!

Once the quilt is done, I'll post a photo of it.  It's for Project Linus and is made mostly out of left over fabric from the baby blanket I made for Danielle, along with some striped and solid fabrics I had lying around.  I'm a bit discouraged by the setback, but I keep reminding myself- everything is a learning experience!