making my first quilt

I'm keeping a notebook of projects as I work through them.  

 
I found this simple pattern at Joanns and thought it was a great way to practice quilting without cutting up a whole bunch of fabric that I want to use for something else...

 This is the kit.  

Posh Pink from Fabric Palette 

 All the parts of the kit.

 My little helper.    He is pairing up the blocks for me according to the instructions.

 Someone told me when sewing a bunch of things together you can just sort of run them in the machine like flags all sewn together.

... pressing ...

... and this is what happens when you have a little helper.   Somehow, someone cut them 2" too short. 

 Ok, so we add a 2" strip to each side....

 There.  That's not so bad (I call this 'winging it')

 With the top strip.

 The back.   Notice the sewn strip in the center?  Yeah, that because someone cut that wrong too....

....and finished.   Quilted in the ditch around the center and the blocks and in stripes up the center.  It's got a cheetah print backing but no batting in the center.


It's warm,  it's cute,  it's been used for nap time already.   I"m calling this - successful.


............bring on the 9 patch for Miss Olive!

I make stuff

That pretty much sums it up.  I'm an art teacher, artist and mom of 3.   I try to teach myself something new every year, something I've always wanted to learn how to do. 

When my first child was due - I taught myself to scrapbook.(2003)

When my second was due - I taught myself to knit.(2006)

When my third was due - I had 900+ lbs of stained glass supplies dumped into my lap (not literally thank goodness), it's not really a "when I have a 3rd child I want to learn how to make her glass projects" sort of fuzzy thing, but when opportunity presents itself.   So, I taught myself to make foil wrapped glass projects.  (2009)

This year I decided to tackle quilts.   I've always admired them.  Half my Aunts and my Grandma make/made them.  I read all I could read about the subject, I just have to jump in. 


This blog is going to be a record of the stuff I make.  The good, the bad, or the ugly and unsuccessful! 


So.... here goes nothing!



-d