New Quilt

This is a quilt that I finished last summer as a 30-year wedding anniversary gift for my parents.  It probably took me a year to finish (it was originally a housewarming gift when they got their new house...).  And it still isn't as large as I intended--I just got burned out and couldn't make any more squares, even though I had cut out all the pieces.  I'll keep them though, and maybe I'll use the same pattern for something small later.

Back On Track

I bet you all thought I wasn't coming back, huh?

It's been a busy Fall. Sorry I haven't updated; starting last July, I had to get a series of shots in my feet, and immediately after I finished those in November, I had to get my gallbladder removed. All the doctor visits put me in no mood to update my blog, but I did get a lot of projects done while I was sitting around! So starting today, I'll be posting what I've been working on.

I never did get to finish that Victorian Tablerunner I started, but it did give me an idea for a quilt. I designed this one myself. So far I have all the blocks sewn and trimmed, now I just have to assemble to quilt top. I had planned for the quilt to be bigger, but I ran out of the light blue fabric...and then the store ran out too. But I still intend to make a border, of course, so this isn't the final size.


Here are the two different blocks I'm using (prior to trimming):



































And here's a detail of the second block:

I also did a lot of cross-stitching while I was couch-bound. Stay tuned!

Finally Finished Quilt

My first quilt is done! Yay! It looks pretty much the same as before, I just did this all along the edge of the border:

I know it's a little goofy, but through some horrible miscalculation, the edges of the top don't quite meet the edges of the border. But now it's all sewn up and happy. :)

Quilt Progress

Well, the quilt is still almost done. I've gotten to a certain point and had to stop.


This is the back. I was trying to show some of the quilting in this picture, but if you can't see it, then you can still see the fabric. I'm using the same fabric for the borders.


And I really messed up the borders. Everything is sewn into place now... but unfortunately some of the edges don't quite overlap the quilt top. Oops. Mistakes don't get much bigger than that. Oh well, it's my first one.


I have an idea or two on how to fix it/fake it, but I need a break from it now.

My First Finished Quilt Top

Yay! I did it! The quilt top is done. :)


...Now how do I make it into a quilt?

Quilt Progress

So far, I've sewn all my squares into rows, and I've started sewing the rows together. It was scary, but I've joined my first two rows.


I didn't do too bad, actually. Most of it lined up pretty well. Look at how neatly the corner meets that seam!


Unfortunately, something somewhere is crooked, because when I pressed the seems flat, everything's just a little off. (This is a same corner as above, but after pressing.)


Yay for progress!

My New Sewing Machine!

So, we finally broke down and got me a new sewing machine. Yay! I'm terribly excited about it. It was actually the cheapest one on the shelf, but it still does way more than the one it's replacing, and it consistently works. I love it.


Here's the one I inherited from my mom. It was her first sewing machine, so it's been around a while. My husband has been trying to get it working right again, and it does so-so (sew-sew! Get it? ....Okay, I'll stop now.) But we knew it would eventually die, so might as well get one that works all time.


I have to confess though, I don't actually know how to sew. I poured over the manual before I did anything (and my husband helped me. He's done more sewing than I have). And after a little practice (but not enough, because I'm impatient) I started working on my quilt again!


I'm having so much fun doing this. It's actually a little difficult to keep sewing in a straight line, but I'm getting the hang of it. I can't wait to see what my first quilt will look like!

My First Quilt

I'm currently attempting my first ever quilt. I'm pretty excited about it, and I've cut all the pieces; all I have to do is sew. Unfortunately, my one and only sewing machine (which I've never used, and don't even know how to) doesn't work, so piecing will have to wait till that's fixed. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to hand-piece my first quilt. Here's the pieces I've cut. I'll post the pattern I'm going to (try) to use later.