Quilt: Part 2

Wow. So much has happened between the last post (and trust me, to get to that point took almost a MONTH). I have finished the quilt top. I knew I loved the colors individually and collectively but when I was laying them out on the floor, I was really questioning my decision on color choices.

So the last photo in part one was the fabrics all lined up to be sewn together. Here's what the first blocks looked like:

Lovely, I know. I fell in love with this print so fast. But then I came across a fabric choice that I had to re-think.

I ended up using the second one so there would be more contrast against the white sashings.

Once I had all the blocks put together, I needed to lay them out on the floor (Thankfully, the "baby" was taking his nap and the toddler was interested to see what I was doing).

This is what I came up with (without all the sashings and boarders). It was REALLY hard for me to imagine how it would come together. I had a few people reassure me (when they saw it laid out) that it was going to look great. I doubted my quilt would look half as good as the one in the photo I was trying to replicate. Once I had them like this, I went ahead and grouped them into three blocks per row and sewed each "block" together. Then the fun started to build. I then added the sashings inbetween each "block" to connect the row together. It was starting to look better...

 See: it's looking better. I had to constantly look at my drawing and the photo I took of it on the floor to make sure I was lining it up the right way (ALL THE TIME).  Then, it came time to add the horizontal sashings. So, here's a true story: I thought I had measured that I would need 56" plus 1/2" for seam allowance. I then sewed all the 2.5" stripes together (as instructed) and then cut them to length. Then, as I was lining the first one up and pinning it to the row, I noticed that it was coming up short. I went back to my notes and added and re-added over and over again (about 3 times). I came to realize that I was off by 2"! I didn't have any extra fabric and it was after the store had closed so I had to just sleep, knowing that I made a BIG boo-boo. Lesson learned again: Measure 1,000,000 times and cut ONCE. I know that this may not be the only time I'll ever do that but first thing in the morning, I was back at the fabric store with a swatch of the original fabric. I bought enough to re-cut all the sashing strips across. After talking with my mom and a friend, I knew what to do- I re-sewed the strips together and added 2 more strips from the fabric I had just bought and re-cut (measuring at least 4 times before I ever cut). A couple of them turned out to be 1/2" too long (and I was able to trim the up after sewing them onto each row). I was able to get laundry going and dishes going that there was enough white noise when the kids went to bed that I could just sew my heart out.

I think the biggest complaint I have about this beautiful beginning of a quilt top was lining each row up to make sure the vertical rows were perfect and not off when pinning and sewing. I would pin and then hold it up to the light to see if they were lined up. Pinning the outside boarders was a perfect ending for me- not lining things up was AMAZING!

I am so happy with the way this quilt top turned out. My final steps are going to be adding the batting, backing, and binding. The quilting will happen but not for a month. I'll be using the help of my sweet mother and her long-arm quilting machine (although she has told me that I can use my own machine). I apologize for the lighting in the last few pictures.... It was a little late and this is all the light I could scrounge up in the living room. I'll do one more post of the quilt with pictures of the batting, backing, and binding on and pictures of the quilt quilted!  I'll be starting on my second quilt which I was inspired by with a friend's quilt of it and borrowed the pages to make. This one, I'm doing without an official pattern or book. It'll make the second quilt so much easier (as I do have the pattern and instructions). I hope you enjoy looking at this as much as I've had putting it together!

Quilt: Part 1

As some of you may know, I have found a new love for quilting and sewing. I've made a dress for my daughter and a couple maxi skirts for myself (honestly, the dress was MUCH harder than a maxi skirt). I found this cool picture on pinterest from a friend. I fell in LOVE with the design and the colors.

I then took after my mom's own skills and plotted out the pattern on a piece of paper to figure out dimensions. It wasn't too hard because everything was square and rectangular. I decided to make the squares 4x4s as a starting place. I was able to come up with the size of a quilt based on my dims.

But that wasn't enough for me. I went ahead and searched (with the information I had on pinterest) to find a pattern to see if I was right with my math. I found it! And it turns out my dims were half of what the original called for. Now, the pattern is $8.99 for the pdf download. But they did offer information (like how many colors with yardage, the finished block size, how much batting and size, basing it on 1/4" seams and 42-44" wide fabric, and ironically if you buy the pattern instructions for the 31"x41" baby quilt- which was the size I had first tested measurements with on paper).

 

So, first I had to pick fabric (which was SO hard without my mom's good eye) and was able to rely on a couple friends opinions and help. 

Once I came up with my color scheme, I had to cut the fabric. I realized when I had gone to a friend's house to work on another quilt that I didn't really have any cutting mats or rotary cutter or rulers. She recommended a brand for the mat and cutter and then I talked to my mom about rulers. My mom said if I was really going to start doing some quilting that I should get a special ruler that had slits on it every half inch that lines fabric up and makes it much easier to cut the fabric. Everything was lining up- one magic day, I got my Joann's ad in the mail and they were having a sale on the mat and cutter my friend recommended and I knew it was a sign :) I was ready to go! With A LOT of guidance and phone calls and texts to my mom, I was finally able to get everything all set up. 

 I was SO SCARED to make that first cut into the fabric. I had to draw out the best way to cut the fat quarters because of making a mistake on the first try. I had to learn some lessons the hard way (cut the longest sashing first, not the shortest) but I know it'll all turn out great in the end (despite my mistakes and lesson-learning). I've been able to cut out all the fabrics and have now started to line up the sashing with the fabrics and am ready to just sew them all down. My next step, once the sashing is in, will be to figure out which block I want next to which. It's times like this where I am so glad we have an office/guest room where I can do that without kids coming in to move them around.

I am so grateful for this new found joy in quilting. I'm grateful for having friends who I can text and email back and forth as I've tried to figure this out and being able to get together to work on our quilts together. I look forward to my evenings out to go quilting/sewing. I am grateful to my mom, who gets a LOT of phone calls and texts these last couple weeks as I try to learn from her experiences and expertise. I look forward to posting the last half of this to show everyone the fruit of my labor of love.