ALL ABOUT MY NEW QUILTING PROJECT

Well it seems as though Wednesday just snuck up on me, and I missed the Hodgepodge altogether. I have enjoyed reading all the others who participate though, so all is not lost.  lol  I thought I should warn everyone in my title just what this post is ALL about, so that those who are not really into sewing or quilting can be aware if they'd rather skip it.  On the other hand, I am constantly looking for good sewing and quilting blogs so if anyone knows of any, PLEASE let me know.  I have found that quilting blogs are much easier to come by then sewing.  I am afraid it is becoming a lost art, but that's another blog post.

SWEET TABI ON HER BIRTHDAY LAST SEPTEMBER

I am somewhat excited about my new project. One of my many nieces is graduating in June from high school.  I decided to make her a quilt as a gift.  Kind of a major undertaking, but I have been wanting to get started on something new to quilt, and I have discovered something about this whole process for me. While I have found MANY MANY MANY quilts that are beautiful and I love, I feel like I need to have a purpose for one of them before I make it. Not really I purpose I guess, as any quilt could be for nothing more than sheer pleasure to look at.  So I guess more what I mean, is SOMEWHERE for it to be.  I feel like a quilt is meant to be displayed at least, if not used as an actual blanket, at least that is what I want them to be for.  I couldn't bear for a quilt to be folded away in a closet or drawer or hope chest and NEVER looked at or used. For myself, I am wanting a beautiful Christmas quilt for some reason.  One I can lay out every Christmas, snuggle under and enjoy, and have it add to the memories we have made for this holiday over the years.  But it is WAY too early to think about Christmas quilts just yet.  Now I will have to get going on it LONG before Christmas so that it will be all done and ready to enjoy before then, but not yet...lol.  And I have also always wanted a patriotic quilt.  Not sure why I have that as something I would like, I just would. Doesn't it just seem like it would be nice to be able to spread out a nice patriotic quilt on summer picnics etc.? So that is probably my next project.  But for right now, a graduation gift just seemed like the perfect excuse to get busy on one.

AND WITH HER DADDY, MY BROTHER DEAN

Soo, I began to plan it out in my head.  I knew I wanted it to be mainly pinks, and "girly girl" as that soo describes sweet Tabatha.  And yet at 17 I wanted it to be something that suits her age as well, and maybe something she can take off to college with her and lay on her bed in the dorm room.  I also knew I wanted to embroider a scripture on it somewhere that suited the occasion.  So I began there.  I found the PERFECT scripture I think in Jeremiah 29:11, and my favorite sight for finding scripture designs had just the right look and feel.  So then I began to try and think of ways to lay out the quilt and realized of course that being so new to quilting, and not really be a designer in ANY way, I would need either someone to help TELL me how to do it, or I was going to have to find a pattern somewhere and figure out how to follow one.  Most of what I have done with quilting so far has been very simple and done by watching video tutorials on the internet.  Now don't get me wrong....I have learned A LOT and feel like I could make possibly anything I set my mind to, but I need a pattern, or at least a starting point beyond the scripture.  So yesterday I headed over to the wonderful quilting shop near my house and found the gal who has been so helpful to me in the past and showed her my scripture design and told her my dilemmas and she was a WONDERFUL WONDERFUL help.  She started by showing me a few patterns she thought might work, and letting me sit down in a comfortable chair there and open them up and read through them.  She wanted to prove to me that if I could read a sewing pattern and follow those, I could follow a quilting pattern if I knew just a few basic things.  She was sooo right!  Much easier than I thought, and I quickly selected one I thought would be perfect.  It is a very basic and simple pattern and should not only be just right for a beginner like me, but suit everything I was looking for to make for my niece, and accommodate the scripture right in the middle of the quilt as well! Soo then of course I set to work looking for just the right fabric.  Now that was fun let me tell you, lol.  Sooo many beautiful lines and fabrics to select from.  The store carries most all of the major designers and their latest lines.  I chose a beautiful line from Riley Blake at Moda.  I will admit I was a little horrified at the register after cutting the fabrics I needed for this SMALL quilt, as it did add up alarmingly.  Not an inexpensive hobby let me tell you, lol.  But I do love the fact that when you pick a line of fabrics by one of these designers, all of the colors blend together just perfectly and the fabric is soo nice.  I am quite sure I could have found less expensive fabric, but I what I had selected was just TOO perfect to pass up. Then, (since I hadn't spent enough, haha) I headed over to the shop where I bought my sewing machine since it is the closest place I can find to buy threads for my embroidery work.  I brought the fabric in with me and carefully matched the colors I wanted to use to the fabric.  I chatted with the ladies in there for quite a while, which is always soo enjoyable.  Nothing like "like minds" to discuss things with....grin.  Then I came home and got busy making the scripture for the center of the block that will be the center of the quilt.  I was concerned as I needed it to be on a piece of fabric EXACTLY 10 and half by 10 and half when done and be centered in the middle of the square perfectly as well.  And the hard part is I would need to start with a piece of fabric MUCH bigger than that in order to hoop it up to embroider. Somehow my brain figured out how to do it, I took my time, (something that is REALLY hard for me to do!) and it came out right the very first time...YAY!  I couldn't have born to waste any of the expensive fabric.  Though the white I chose for this was NOT part of the rest of the line I am using.  So now today I will set to work (after my cleaning woman leaves that is, so not until much later this afternoon) cutting all my pieces.  It really shouldn't be too bad, but again I am going to force myself to move slowly and THINK about what I am doing so as not to make a mistake.  I have found with my limited amount of quilting, that the cutting of the pieces EXACTLY is key. Sewing and cutting for garments is sooo much more forgiving.  Quilting is very EXACT work, lol, and not really my thing.  I have also decided I am going to carefully mark my piles A, B, etc., as I have a feeling I might get "confused" otherwise.  I am anxious to get going on this, and am hoping to get all my cutting done today.  Thank goodness for my rotary cutter that I have FINALLY mastered, lol.  Sooo now let me show you my fabrics.

THIS IS THE PATTERN I HAVE SELECTED

THE FABRICS....SOO PRETTY!  THE WHITE WILL BE USED FOR THE SCRIPTURE BLOCK, AND ALSO FOR THE LABEL ON THE BACK OF THE QUILT.  AND THE SOLID GREY IS FOR THE SMALL BORDER

THIS BIG BOLD ONE WILL BE THE MAIN FABRIC USED IN THE MIDDLE OF EACH BLOCK AND AS THE WIDE BORDER AS WELL

THE BACK OF THE QUILT

THE EMBROIDERED SCRIPTURE

LOVE HOW IT GOES WITH THE FABRICS!

I guess that's it for now.  Hopefully I will be able to show you some progress by Friday's post.  I need to schedule a time to get this to the quilters as they are already backing up by a few weeks, and I need this in time for her graduation party on the 8th.  Again, I do NOT take for granted the privilege I have that I have not only this new FUN machine to work with, but the time and the health to do so.  How grateful I am.  Hope everyone is having a GOOD week! Blessings to all, Debbie