My First Quilt (of course it's for Marlee)

I am a procrastinator.... it takes me forever to do anything... mostly because I can't make up my mind on details... for example I started this quilt back in November of 2012.... that's right... a year ago.... and I am finally getting around to blogging about it...I'll throw in dates here and there so you can see my lack of progress... 

here goes...

November 2012

I have spent months browsing through Pinterest and YouTube on the subject of Quilting. I have been dreaming about quilting.  It's about time I started one.  I found a pretty easy pattern on Pinterest, which you can see right here..

http://www.polkadotchair.com/2010/08/snuggly-bricks-quilt-tuesday-tutorial.html

 

 

I rummaged through all my fat quarters to find just the right fabrics.....

 

 

 

I began cutting all my squares

 

 

only to find the pattern was a little wrong....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't have enough fabric for the length it was supposed to be...

no worries though....

I can make it work....

I am resourceful like that. 

While I was at it.. I expanded on the pattern to make it longer... see.... that's using my head... I decided that whatever fabric I add needed to be the same... meaning whatever I add is going to be used for all the extension pieces...

 

that's when I thought about a crib sheet.  I cut off all the elastic and ironed it and I was surprised at the amount of fabric I just gained.

 

 

  

 I cut out all the additional pieces...and laid out the pattern on the floor again and numbered them ...

once I was happy with the order... I gathered them all up...and they sat there.... for 3 weeks.. ... until I decided ok... let me start this... so I get out my brand new machine... and the drama begins....

December 2012

I pull out my new Singer and low and behold... I can't get the tension right... over and over again I change the tension... turn it up... turn it down... Ugh... nothing is working!!!

Enter my OLD sewing machine... my Brother XL-5500...download the manual... see the proper tension settings...turn a few dials... and I'm good to go!!!  Woo Hoo... let the sewing begin....5 weeks after my intended start date... but its still progress nonetheless.  

so I start sewing all my blocks together and placed them to see if I liked the pattern... Guess what????

 

 

 I didn't like the sheet....
it just didn't fit in for me....

 

So I ripped it all out and back to Joann's I go....and I found my backing fabric....

 

 and another that will be good for the extra rows and blocks...

 

 

 

so it was back to the cutting board and sewing machine I go..... now remember I said I was a procrastinator....now it's December 13th. 

Time is

passing me by.... tick tock.... again... as usual...by this time I had given up on any thoughts that I might actually give this to Marlee for Christmas... Ha ha ha... that's so funny!!!

 

December 19th....

 

Lots of sewing and ironing and sewing and ironing....

 

 

And I finally finally finally have my quilt top... by the way... its December 30th!!!

 

Still have work to do....

let's see how long it'll take now.

 

February 11, 2013

 

That's right... I said February.....

 

It turns out that I had a lot of the extra blocks fabric left over so I decided to use it for the backing.

 

More cutting... and sewing and ironing... and I had a quilt backing...

 

 

 

Looked real nice.... for a minute...

 

Then I messed it up...

 

Again....while trying to square up my quilt and cut corners by doubling up my fabric... I ended up cutting a little too much off the edge and sliced into the good fabric... Right in the middle of the quilt... sooooooooooooooo now I have to change the backing... UGH!!!

 

 

 

And I can't find any pics of my mistake... which is a good thing... I still had to quilt it... and that was an experience I'd rather not go in to right now.. (and I can't find those pics either... Windows 8 SUCKS)... so now

 

it is

 

SEPTEMBER!!!

 

Time flies huh??

 

Now it's time to bind this thing

 

 

boy do I suck at this....





 

 That's Better!

 

 

Now I'm done... that's all she wrote...

 

 

Stick a fork in me.... I'm done...

 

 

 

 

maybe someday I will go and fix my many binding errors... until then....

 

Marlee Loves It!!!!



And it looks great.... right where it is...

 

 

 



November 4, 2013

The End!

 

Basting and Quilting and Binding...Oh My!!!

They say practice makes perfect.... I think I have a long way to go.  It all started with the idea that I need to practice my quilting skills.  I decided if I was going to need some practice, I might as well make it useful and make some hot pads for my kitchen.   I grabbed a fat quarter and got busy... making my first quilt sandwich.



 

 

 

 

I cut out my fabric and the Insul-Bright and used basting spray to make my sammich!!

 

 

Next came the walking foot and my first time quilting...  Not too shabby.... if I say so myself....

This was fun!!!!

 

Then I trimmed away the edges.

 

 

Time to make the binding....

 I watched several tutorials online to learn how

. So I used a fat quarter and my shape cutter to make 2.5" strips...

 

 

Lay one strip along the other as shown

 and stitch on the diagonal to make one long strip...and trim away the edges...

 

 

 

 

see how cool it is...

All ready to make some binding!!

 

A little spray starch....

 

 

A little folding....

 

Sew all the way around...

 

 

Lift the binding up to create a 45 degree angle... 

Then flip it back over and sew down the seam...

 



 

Mark where your seams meet and sew together

 

a few steps later..

which I will add when I locate the pics...

 and a few wrong decisions later... and I have my first hot pad!!!!

 

 

 

 

My new obsession

So I was sitting here one day flipping through the channels on TV when I came across this AWESOME sewing machine on HSN.  I know the last thing I need to do is start watching another shopping channel... but this sewing machine sucked me right in.   I was mesmerized... totally enthralled with the amazing ability of this machine. The sales rep was so psyched about it... totally did her job and did it well. The next thing I knew I had ordered this phenomenal machine, and I already have a sewing machine.... which I haven't used in years!!!  Wanna see it???  Here look... tell me you aren't amazed too...It's so awesome!!

So was I wrong?  AND I got it for $150 less than the price its going for now... with free shipping... and flex payments over 6 months!!!  Can you say SCORE??

Since then ... I probably spent what I saved on fabric, those fancy schmancy plastic rulers and a few books and magazines.   I also watched a bunch of videos on YouTube learning whatever I can about sewing and quilting... Let's just say.. I'm invested in this now... So I better start using it ! 

I tried and failed on making a few baby shower gifts... they are lame to say the least... and well over due to the recipient...She will get them...some day... with an apology and a gift card!!  Some day she may say, I knew her when her work sucked.... lol

So I decided to dive right in and make a quilt for my little MarMar.... she is going to need a big girl bed... and soon.... *(there's another project, for another blog).  It's going to be a surprise for her, so don't tell.  The quilt is a simple pattern of rectangles in a brick pattern... simple enough, right?  Well nothing is as easy as it appears, and that's a whole new story.... I'll keep you informed...

So here it goes... a new hobby.... something else to clutter my house with... but I'll have fun doing it... hope you have fun following along...