Quilt'n

Well, I started my 3rd quilt a few weeks ago. I hope I'm not crazy - especially with work/life being so busy the past few months. Some friends started a monthly craft night and while in Ginger's I became possessed and bought a bunch of fat quarters and a quilt pattern. It looks pretty simple - Yellow Brick Road - and since I haven't done this in 3 years and may be biting off more that I can chew, I felt safer with this pattern even though it's not too exciting. I eventually want to do a quilt out of the Denise Schmidt book I have, but hers are based on xeroxing patterns and tracing the shapes and I prefer my rotary cutter and Omnigrid rulers.

I've done most of the basic cutting and stitching of the blocks these past two Sundays, now I just need to start stitching the bricks together into more complex patterns.

People always seem impressed when they learn I'm making a quilt top. I had someone ask if it involved a lot of math. Someone else remarked that you probably save a lot of money making it yourself versus buying it at Anthropolgie or wherever. Not really. In fact if you want something that will last a while and be pretty soft, it's not exactly cheap to make. Really, it's about working on a project that you can see progress on quickly and have a sense of accomplishment. Also, I'll have something unique that no one else, even myself, could replicate. The hardest thing for me about quilting is not about the actual stitching, it's about making decisions about fabric. I'm strangely indecisive about this part - it's such a commitment and if you suddenly decide you don't like it half way through - well, i don't want to even think about that.

After washing the fabrics, I began the basic cutting.

My least favorite part - ironing. Although it's not too painful to iron fabric versus collared shirts...

I think the main reason I haven't done another quilt is space. We've been in apartments and unless you have space to leave things out it's too much of a hassle to take out your supplies and then put them away. Now that we are in the house, I can actually set up my sewing gear in the guest room and leave it out until I'm done!!! Or until we get our next guest.

Pinning the first strips - right side down, of course.

First stack of sewn & pressed strips.

Cutting in action. I cut a few fabrics slightly too short at craft night (I was cutting on my hands and knees on the floor while chatting with friends, drinking wine, and fighting my cat allergy which is not really an ideal atmosphere) and was afraid I'd have to buy some more fabric. Thankfully the pattern allotted for a little extra on the end.

The best part - the fabric! I love all the tiny patterns, particularly the vintage-inspired patterns at Ginger's. I love the mom & pop fabric shops in Austin. I got some fun patterns at Gingers but needed some basic solids so the quilt wouldn't make me dizzy. I sadly discovered nearby Hancock Fabric on airport no longer exists, so I chose to brave Joanne's versus the much hated Hobby Lobby that's closer. Joanne's only had about 8 colors of quality fabric to choose from - the other 100+ colors were not 100% cotton and were super scratchy and thin-looking. Plus I had to wait for about 25 minutes to get the 2 bolts of fabric I finally found cut. I have to agree with Ian - he has bad memories of having to go into Joanne's as a kid with his mom and even thinking about going into the store makes his head start hurting.

First round of cutting & stiching is done.

This always helps.

Barley tried to keep me company, but kept laying in the most inconvenient spots like the one pictured below. He kept resting his head on my feet which I usually try to take advantage of since he's not the most cuddly dog, but not this time.