When I sew, I normally set up my machine on the kitchen table and take up more than half the table with all my stuff. So when the machine gets put away and the table is actually clean (which, let's face it, even when the sewing machine isn't there, the table is still a mess), I usually don't break out the machine for awhile. But last weekend, I wanted to sew so out came the machine and the subsequent mess. Of course, I was supposed to sew my sloper dress shell and skirt for the Sewing group but I decided to work on a baby quilt for my sister, who is expecting a boy in May.
I turned to my fabric stash and
Oh, Fransson!, my favorite site for quilting inspiration for a quick project. She does beautiful, modern quilts and I just bought her book because I love her stuff so much. I really wanted to showcase the fun car fabric I bought awhile ago and I loved the punch of color and contrast the panel of blocks provided. I cut out pieces on Friday, sewed all day Saturday and Sunday and bound the quilt on Monday. (Which shows me that it doesn't take a year to make a quilt, like my last baby quilt took me....) Here's the finished product:
I also wanted to practice free-motion sewing. Luckily, this fabric has a pattern built right into it, and I quilted along the road. Unfortunately, my free-motion quilting (with the feed dogs covered) didn't go so well, so I reverted back to the feed dogs, but I think if I buy the right foot for my machine, it'll go much easier with practice.
The binding was a pain but I think with more practice, I'll get much better at it. I machine sewed the entire binding, and I think in the future, I'll hand sew it which will leave me with better results. But, this is only the second time I've bound a project this way and I can already tell I've improved. Luckily, my sister-in-law is pregnant and I'm planning on making her a baby quilt as well so I'll get more practice soon.
Liz
