Wednesday 27 July 2011

10 quilts in 9 weeks!

My goal this summer was to make 10 quilts and read 10 books in 9 weeks. I never get to read or quilt quite as much as I would like during the school year.  So the summer is a great time for me to finish up books or projects that I have started and never quite got around to finishing.  I also have a few larger quilt projects that I haven't started because I know how time consuming they will be.

So here is the first of ten quilts I have to make this summer. It is made using Buttercup fabric by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda.  I originally got this fabric for a different project and ended up changing my mind at the last minute.  Luckily for me is matches my new sewing room perfectly! So this I made this quilt to hang up behind my sewing station and I am very happy with the way it turned out!

Quilt #1

Saturday 9 July 2011

In the beginning....

When I first started to make quilts I would only make the quilt tops.  I really liked getting the material, cutting it all up and making it into something pretty! But I really knew nothing about actually "quilting" a quilt.  I used to just sew the front, batting and back all together and then bind them.  So the first batch of quilts I ever made were not actually "quilted" at all!  

I then started to try to quilt them on my tiny little Kenmore sewing machine and quickly realized that this was not the tool for the job.  After visiting my sister over the holiday break one year she took me to her local fabric store which also sold a variety of sewing machines.  It just so happens that a free motion quilter was on sale and it practically followed me home!  When I got home I practiced on several pieces of scrap material and then finally got up the nerve to try a real quilt.  Below is my first ever quilting attempt!
 
 
This quilt turned out to be patchy and bunched up in places but it found a good home.  I choose this quilt because I had actually made the top out of some left over material. The material was bought for a different quilt entirely so this was a good practice run.  I call this quilt the little sister...to it's much bigger and more detailed sibling which has found a good home in my living room!

Wednesday 6 July 2011

Mario's Match

Well a few weeks ago I posted a picture of the little Mario quilt I made for my sister.  In the same group of patterns there are several very cool video game designs.  The little Mario that I made was actually my third video game quilt.  The first one I made was a bigger version of Mario (on my list of "things to quilt" this summer) and the second one I made was the matching quilt of Duck Hunt.


I know this picture took a LONG time to put up.  But it is because I have been working on a very important quilting project.  More on that to come later!