quilting crash course

My mom's friend Joy is a wonderful seamstress and quilter. When she heard I was interested in making a quilt, she flew in town to teach me. For 2 days, I ignored my house, kids and husband to start and almost finish a quilt. (My parents came over every day to babysit, so my children were not too neglected) She taught me a lot and has inspired me so much, I already ordered some fabric for my next quilt!


I love picking out fabrics and coordinating ones that go together. I was inspired to do the quilt when I came across a sweet design with trees on it. I built the quilt around that one piece of fabric using pinks, yellows, greens and oranges. I cut out all of the fabrics before Joy got here. Later, she taught me how to cut them out in a much easier way using some new tools. Like Eric says "there's a tool for every project". I'll just repeat that to him when I spend a small fortune acquiring all the necessary tools.

I have a very basic sewing machine, but it works great for all my sewing projects. You don't need a super fancy machine to get started.



Joy recommended that I get a quarter inch quilting foot and I LOVE it. I'm not very good at sewing a straight line because I'm too impatient, so it helps a ton. It basically guides the fabric so every seam you sew is 1/4th inch.



I used to get too frustrated sewing to enjoy it. Maybe it was the slippery minky and satin I used to make baby blankets that made me frustrated. Ever since I switched to cotton fabric, I must admit that I really enjoy it. I try not to worry about all the imperfections and just enjoy the process and the finished product I made with love for my family or friends.

It took me 1 and 1/2 days to learn how to quilt and sew all the patches together. I loved it so much, I decided to make it bigger. Right now it is 48" by 60" and I'm going to make it 60" by 80". Now I'm off to the fabric store to buy some more fabric so some day this quilt can go on my baby girl's bed! When I'm done with the quilt top and backing, I will ship it off to a professional for it to be quilted. I can't wait!

Thank you Joy for sharing all your wisdom with me! I had a great time and I truly appreciate it!