First-ever Quilt

After debating it for awhile, I finally finished my first quilting project. What started out as a July project turned into an October (completed) project...



It was inspired by a quilt that came up on a blog I like awhile back, but I also found it randomly when I typed into Google "modern quilts". I fell in love with all the different bright-colored fabrics and the no-pattern feel of it.

I literally did not use any pattern. I got a lot of help from Katherine in figuring out the lengths of the strips for the front and using her supplies to cut most of the fabric.


When it came to the back, I cut with regular scissors and just made it up on my own-no rulers or patterns to follow. Probably a little scary for pattern-faithful quilters! Looking back, a pattern and rotary cutter would've been nice. I guess it could've ended up looking a lot worse!

It's kind of an anyday quilt, not for anything specific. It may look like a baby quilt, but it's not. I figured it could be our picnic blanket or our laying out in the yard blanket. I sat out in the backyard a lot this past summer reading and soaking up the sun.

It took me a few days to decide on the fabrics, but I basically just bought fabrics that I liked and then hoped that they would all look good together once on the quilt. I did splurge on some Amy Butler fabrics on Etsy which I have no regrets about. They are my favorite. I think you can definitely tell the difference between JoAnn's regular fabrics and designer fabrics (although JoAnn's carries some good quality designer fabrics too).

The process of it all was really fun because it was very learn-able as a step-by-step process. Once I finished doing the front and back layers, I got the batting and layered them. Then I pinned them together.

The actual quilting part threw me for a loop. I was working on doing a diamond grid, but getting my lines straight while trying to push it through a little space in the sewing machine made it very difficult. I tried using painters tape but with the quilt all bunched up, it was not a great plan for me. The tension on the machine was off on top of that, so I sewed and ripped seams, sewed, and ripped seams. Then I put the quilt away in the guest room closet for more than a month just out of frustration.

Finally I went over to Katherine's and it was much easier with a chalk pen to draw my lines on the fabric, use a newer machine, and have a pro sewer to stand by me.

The binding was easier than expected, and I got through it in a few hours (in 2 sittings) because I was so excited to see the finished product. It was pretty relaxing to sew by hand. A side note: Katherine taught me how to make a knot for hand sewing so it doesn't pull through and get loose!




Will I do another quilt? Not sure. Probably. It was more of an investment (financial and time-wise) than I expected. But it was really fun seeing it go from just a pile of fabrics to an actual finished quilt.

More (yes!) pictures here. I couldn't help but post tons of pics because I was so excited about it!