Quilting Update

I kind of dropped the ball when it came to the step-by-step documentation of my quilting project. At any rate, I am very pleased to report that I have just completed the the quilt top. All I need to do is sew the backing together which will only take a few minutes and then it will be ready to go to the quilter's. I found a long arm quilter here in town that is not experiencing a 2 month backlog.

I am just so proud of myself. I can't believe I made this all by myself. Lily is begging me to make a quilt for her and I actually think I could do it. Since Lily has a "big girl bed", I will have to make hers twin sized which is twice again the size of the one I just completed. I think I can do it. The girls have watched the process and Darcy keeps asking, "Is that for me?" Brian keeps seeing this as some kind of potential cottage industry, but I am finding it incredulous that anyone would pay money for something that I made. I keep thinking that I could make them and give them away.

I heard there is going to be an intermediate class in May and I am looking forward to taking that class as well. Brian's outage will be over and maybe by then I'll have had time to complete Lily's quilt. I don't think she is going to give me much rest until I at least start on it.

But seriously, who would have ever thought such a thing could happen?

Though it's limited, here is the progression of my first quilt:

First, I brought home a stack of fabric. Brian has already confessed that he didn't think this was going to look well together. It wasn't what he had in mind when I came and asked his advice and then hurried back into the store....

Then, at the end of the first class, we had to have one set of strips sewn together to make blocks. For our second class, all of those strips had to be sewn with seams pressed open. Here was my first effort:

It took four sets of these strips and a center square to make an actual block. I should have taken a picture of my first block, but that was the part where I was remiss. All 20 blocks had to be created and then sewn together in 4 rows of 5 for our third class.

This is a close up of the corner.

And finally, the whole quilt top, as seen thumbtacked to my den wall...

I am very pleased with myself and think it has been a fine first effort. Now, if I could only finish my apron. I am committed to finishing that stupid thing. And also, I want to learn how to make a Veggie Tale dress like the one I bought Darcy for her birthday. It can't be hard...