A year ago, on this day, I bought my sewing machine, Bessy. It's crazy to look back and see how much I've learned and expanded. The number of quilting tutorials available online is ridiculous. I have never taken a class in person. Everything I have done has been through reading/following tutorials and trial and error.
My first quilt: After seeing a Downy commercial, I was inspired to help Quilts for Kids. This was made using a quilt kit (pre-selected and pre-cut fabric). It was a lot of fun, but I wouldn't suggest using the using the quilt kit as your first project.
My second quilt: Quilt top made from a baby quilt kit from Bijou Lovely and quilted following Holly's awesome tutorial. The binding is completely machine bound!
This was technically #3, but it took me forever to finish it. This is the first quilt in which I selected the fabric. The colors are much more vivid in person (yay winter phone photography). Truthfully, I'm not a fan of the colors, but a friend saw it and loved it. Quilted in a circular pattern after seeing Munchkin Quilts do it. I made the mistake of pulling at the fabric too much in the corners so the quilt doesn't lay flat, oops!
Quilt for Kids #4! I went with a simple design that I made up and pulled the colors from the backing.
#5! I discovered fabric bundles. Someone else picks coordinating fabrics and I just buy them as a set. The mitered corners on this on were nearly perfect.
In between the quilts I tried my hand at various things:
Baby blocks.
A jewelry roll in which I completely made up (no pattern)!
I tackled a pile of old skirts from college and upcycled them into toddler skirts for my friend's little girl. Which then led me to open up an Etsy shop.
I'm still too intimidated to tackle the large pile of clothes that need alterations, but hopefully that'll change in the near future.
Like a real quilter, I can now say that I have a fabric stash (that I keeps growing, I may have a slight fabric problem) and a pile of WIPs (works-in-progress). I think there are like 4 finished quilt tops and a shower curtain in the pile.
Next on the horizon is Fabric Fest! I can't wait to see my friends from The Makerie 2012 (some photos posted here.) and learn new skills.
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| Riley Blake Fabric Fest 2013 |
*photos taken either with dSLR or Instagram.
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