Attempt at Quilting Phase 4

After fighting wearily with my own sewing machine for hours one Friday night and then again for hours the following Saturday, I finally gave up and waited a week before borrowing my friend's machine and finally getting on with some quilt sewing!
I think by the time I began sewing I was already drained of most of my patience, so the end result might have a lot to do with that...


I began by sewing each row:

And as you can see, I wasn't too successful with getting my fabric squares sewed straight. This also might've been due in part because I used various textures. When sewing a cotton fabric with a corduroy or chenille, I rarely ever had a straight seam; the thicker fabric would pull the thin cotton to the side...needless to say it was very imperfect.

I had a few of these moments, where I sewed the seams on opposite sides of the fabric. Woops! Bad feeling!

When this happened I'd have to toss that section out, and instead of putting together a whole new row, I just decided to get rid of a few, so my quilt turned out much smaller than I had anticipated.

Not many patches lined up, lots of fabric was tossed out, but overall, I am pleased with how the top of my very first quilt turned out! I almost think the imperfection adds a more natural and rustic feel, and I am always fine with that!

And once this chair is painted white, it'll be ready to match up with the quilt! The picture below was taken in our dining room, which is the same paint color that I plan on using in the nursery.

And, of course, I had to bring out Mr. Fox and two little birdies (part of a mobile in progress that I'll share with you soon) to see how they all looked together.

It's a start, right?

Next, I get to learn the art of piping! Oh and assemble the rest of the quilt, phew!

Attempt at Quilting Phase 3

I'm taking this quilting thing verrrrrry slow. I think I'm still apprehensive about royaly messing the whole thing up!
This past weekend I finished cutting all the fabric. One thing I've learned in this process...

You really don't need that much fabric!

Especially if you're using 8 different fabrics and you're making a small quilt. I definitely bought more than I needed! 

Anyways, after cutting I very hesitantly moved onto the next step: placing the squares in their pattern.

This part was so much fun! I laid the fabric down on the floor, alternating colors and patterns, but keeping in mind that it didn't need to be perfect.

I just continued lying fabric squares down in a pattern until I achieved my desired quilt size, keeping in mind that the squares will be smaller once sewn.

After I convinced myself that if I kept on going this quilt would end up being a lot more work, I moved onto the next step...

Part of me thought I should start pinning the fabric together...then I got some sense and realized that no pinning is necessary.

So, I numbered each row like this:

Then, being careful to keep the squares in order, I piled each row up, moving left to right.

In the end I ended up with 10 piles of neatly stacked fabric.

Now when I gain enough courage and time, all I have to do is grab a pile and begin sewing the squares together, top to bottom, left to right! I'm feeling more confident already! Except that now we know we're having a boy and I think if I hadn't been so convinced we were having a girl I would've picked manlier colors!

Attempt at Quilting Phase 2

Now that all the fabric is successfully washed, dried and pressed(uggh hate ironing!) I have begun cutting away with my awesome tools and have really made some headway in piles of square fabric pieces.

Cutting fabric has seriously never been this easy or fun, seriously! All you do is line your fabric up on the cutting mat and use your ruler to cut the width/length to your liking. For this quilt I'm cutting 5" squares, which just so happens to be the width of my ruler. Perfect! This is the main reason I decided to go with a patchwork quilt for my first time rather than a vertical row quilt.

And, after much deliberation paired with a temporary freak out session of thinking I hated the fabrics I had chosen (and bought), I am now certain that these will be the final fabrics used for the quilt!

I'm a little bit intimidated by cutting the striped fabric & keeping it straight...eeeeek!

The piece that really made it all come together is Amy Butler's Laurel Dots in Cilantro. This fabric was given to me for a super birthday present from my great friend Allie Pyles. She got the fabric at  My Little Sunshine Fabrics! Totally made my day! Thanks Allie!!

And after cutting away...

Can you say progress?!  The greatest thing is this really didn't take long at all. I was able to cut about 4 layers of fabric at a time.

I know it looks like a ton of squares, but I'm making extra for other quilted projects like pillows or a crib bumper. And I still don't really know what I'm doing & haven't done the math to find out exactly how many squares of each fabric I'll need, so I kind of just started cutting away! 

I guess I'm for real making a quilt! 

Attempt at Quilting Phase 1

Yesterday after talking with my friend Janna, I got motivated to begin entering into the world of sewing by making my first quilt!
Last year I watched my roommate Amy hand sew her first quilt together, and if I hadn't seen that, I would be completely lost!
After work I headed over to Hancock Fabrics and spent way too much time and money there, but I feel confident in purchasing these items, which have made cutting fabric so far much easier and efficient!

1. An Olfa Cutting Mat

This mat is self healing, which basically means it's kind of gooey and when you cut into it it'll morph to fill the slice back in, neat! It's like a superhero power!

2. An Olfa Ergonomic Rotary Cutter

This is basically like a pizza cutter on steroids! It's so fun to cut with!

3. A Lip Edge Ruler

This ruler hangs on to the edge of the cutting mat & keeps things straight, kind of like a t-square ruler.

I also picked up 7 different fabrics, but I still don't feel settled...I'm going to check out Tennessee Quilts for more fabric in Jonesborough as well (thanks Janna!).

My goal is to complete a small quilt, around 3x4 feet, and possibly a matching crib bumper, but who knows, this could turn out to be a learning lesson for future projects! Kind of like when I first learned how to knit, I made a knitted piece that resembled a blanket that a hamster would use...

Here's some inspiration:

Oooh Aaaah! I love the mixture of textures used in these pieces...I tried to mimic that idea and bought some cotton chenille fabric along with two different types of corduroy (is it bad that I had to Google the word corduroy to know how to spell it?).

And let me tell you, chenille is EXPENSIVE! No wonder these quilted beauties cost $$$!

Also, what's the deal with the lowsy selection of neutral fabrics?? Things seem to either be camo or flowers & butterflies. I could hardly find any stripes or polka dots! Mmmm seersucker would be nice! Did walk away with TONS of muslin though for super cheap, and I love the natural look it has! Thanks for the tip Ashley!

I'll stay updated with pictures as things progress, so far you haven't missed much, just washed and dried the fabric and tested out my supplies!

And here's a quote shared by Make it Do:

How much piecin’ a quilt is like livin’ a life! You can give the same kind of pieces to two persons, and one will make a “nine-patch” and one’ll make a “wild goose chase, ” and there will be two quilts made out of the same kind of pieces, and jest as different as they can be. And that is jest the way with livin’. The Lord sends us the pieces, but we cut them out and put ‘em together pretty much to suit ourselves, and there’s a heap more in the cuttin’ out and the sewin’ than there is in the caliker.

 -Eliza Calvert Hall in “Aunt Jane of Kentucky”

Any quilters out there have any advice for a newby??



Sew Inspired!

I've been dreaming up project after project that I could tackle if I only had more time to get acquainted with my barely used sewing machine!

Exhibit A:





BananaSaurus Rex

    Exhibit B:

BananaSaurus Rex

More reasons to start using my sewing machine...

And I truly don't think this is humanly possible for me to make, but I can dream!:

Scout & CATALOGUE

And even more lovelies! 




Ashley Carter Designs

  

Ashley Carter Designs

Maybe soon I'll make what will literally be my third sewing project (made a pennant banner  & "puff" balls last year) since Home-Ec in Jr. High!

Yellow Songbird Fabulous Fabric Giveaway!

I've been following the super sweet and incredbily talented Kim, creator of Yellow Songbird for just a few weeks now and can't get enough. Check out her shop Oh Sweet Joy! and her awesome blog, including sewing tutorials and inspiration! She makes me want to get the sewing machine out and go for it!
Well, today she's partnering up with My Little Sunshine fabric shop for a free giveaway!!

Click here to head over to Yellow Songbird and enter for your chance to get a $20 store credit to My Little Sunshine etsy shop!

Here's a sneak peak at some of the awesome fabrics...

Happy giveaway entering & fabric browsing!