WWW: Finished Quilt Top!!

I've finished the quilt top. What do you think?!?! I know you probably can't tell but the seams are REALLY off. Luckily this quilt is built in a way that from a distance the mistakes are easily missed. :)

I had a fun time making it. Also, since my stitching was so off and the quilt is so much smaller, I was able to make the backing out of 1 piece of material without having to sew 2 pieces together. I'm pretty glad about that. I'm headed to A.C. Moore right now to get some basting pins so that I can put it all together tonight. I think I know the quilting pattern I'm going to use, but I'm really nervous about how it's going to turn out. We shall see I suppose. :)

Here's the picture!

Mmmm, Dan's lower legs. Seeexaaay. ;)

Until tomorrow,

Amy

WWW: Learning to Be a Beginner

There are two words that can describe me quite accurately when it comes to learning a new skill: stubborn and lazy.

When I graduated from college I received a "Senior Superlative" from my classmates that dubbed me:
Most Likely to Skip Class but Still Help You Study for the Exam.

It's missing the A.

It's true. I probably attended about 50% of my classes and managed to get either the highest or second highest score in every one of them (in Junior and Senior year, that is). The level of effort that I had to apply in order to do well on tests was pretty minimum. Don't get me wrong, I did have a full schedule and I did work hard. I had a full time job. I was in a lab. I helped T.A. a class. I tutored people on the side. I was in a couple clubs. I wrote an Honors Thesis. My college degree didn't come easy, but my test grades always did.

I'm not bragging. The reason I did so well was because I was extremely interested in the topics I was learning. I loved everything about Speech and Hearing sciences. I soaked up everything that was introduced almost immediately. It was EASY for me to learn the material because I just UNDERSTOOD it.

That's how I want everything that I'm interested in to be. I want to be able to be the best quilter, the best seamstress, the best home decorator, the best photographer, the best knitter, etc. Seriously, I want to be the best at all things creative. I can't ever decide on one thing that I want to devote my time to because I love it all. But recently I realized that I can't be the best at everything. I can be good at anything I want, but I can't be the best at everything.

I hate that. I can't deal with that. Actually, my brain is hurting thinking about that.

I am making a quilt right now for Autumn. It's supposed to measure out at the end at 48" x 60". It's going to be closer to 40" by 50". I just couldn't get the seams correct on all my 9-piece blocks. I'm partially apathetic to this and partially really annoyed with myself. I keep thinking, "man, I should really give up on quilting after this one. I clearly am not cut out for this."

Yep, that's what I am thinking after my very first attempt at a quilt. I didn't take any classes. I haven't read any books on the process. But, because it's not turning out perfectly on my first try, I'm over it.

Luckily, I have realized this about myself. I have come to understand that when faced with a challenge, I'd prefer to give up than push through. But, what kind of an example is that for Autumn? Not to mention, how boring is life without challenges?

So, I'm forcing myself to push through to the end of this quilt. I am going to start a new quilt following this and I am going to be more meticulous about my seams. I am going to be patient with the process. But most importantly, I am going to accept my mistakes as building blocks on my road to learning to be better. No more craft jumping and never going back. I am going to force myself to stick with things that I love doing, even if I'm not great at it from the very beginning. I know that I'll still be making a large variety of crafty things, but when I start a project, I'll finish it. And if it's not perfect, I'll have another go at it later.

Learning to be a beginner is hard. But we all have to start somewhere, don't we?

Amy

Oh. P.S. Here's a picture of all of the quilt pieces laid out in the appropriate pattern. I've sewn the first 4 rows together and have 6 rows left to do. I clearly didn't allow myself enough time. Why? Because I feel like I need to be on an expert's schedule. Goodness, I have extremely high ambitions and very little patience (or grip on reality, for that matter).

WWW: Puzzle Quilt In-Progress

I'm working on a Puzzle Quilt for Autumn. It's a combination of 9-piece blocks and solid blocks that are staggered. It's pretty cute and seemingly easy to make. Just straight line sewing!

HOWEVER! For some unknown reason, I am consistently making my blocks about 1/2" smaller than they are supposed to be. I am totally confused. The squares are cut to the right size and I'm sewing 1/4" seams. So... why are they too small?!

Fortunately, it's consistent. So, I'm going to adjust the solid blocks down to the size of the 9-piecers and hope that it works.

This is the first "real" quilt that I've made. Meaning, the first quilt that requires the quilt top to be all sewn together first. The only other quilt I made her was this raggy quilt.

I do realize that I'm sewing a quilt that was not actually on my "24 things to accomplish before 24" list. So, I might replace the other quilt with this quilt, unless I find that machine quilting is fun and I'll probably make the 2 other quilts, too! Man, I'm complicated. 

Here is a picture of my work in-progress.

I'm hoping to sew 4-8 blocks per day. That should get me finished with the 9-piece patches in 3-7 days. Then I'll spend one day sewing the individual rows together and pressing them. Then the next day sewing the rows to one another in order to finish the quilt top. Then a day sewing the backing together and pinning the backing to the batting and the top. And finally 2 days to quilt the thing. And one final day to put the sashing around the sides. So... if you could keep up with that... I'm hoping to finish my first real quilt in.....hold on let me count.... 9-13 days. Woot! Oh wait, just kidding, I have company coming (YAYAYAYAYAY!!! My first college roomie is coming up!!!!) on this Sunday and she'll be here for a couple days. So... more like 11-15 days.

And because I love this baby so much, here is a picture of Autumn hanging with her friends, Pig and Ellie, on the raggy quilt I made for her. She is so hysterical sometimes!!!

 

Until tomorrow,

Amy

WWW: My First Tutorial!! Stuffed, Crinkly, Taggy Toy!

Autumn’s Grandma took her again this afternoon and I was able to finish her stuffed, crinkly, taggy toy! Now I get to share with you my first ever tutorial! I hope you find it useful!


I’m linking up with the following blogs this week:


First up: What you need.




    1.   Water (for rehydration, of course!)
  2. Sewing Machine
  3. Ribbon
  4. Crinkly plastic. (I used old candy bags that I  had save since Halloween!)
  5. Scissors
  6. Pins
  7. Thread
  8. Seam Ripper
  9. Six pieces of fabric in the colors of your choice
  10. Cutting Board
  11. Ruler
  12. Rotary Cutter
  13. Fabric Pen
  14. Polyester Fiberfill
  15. Lighter (optional)
  16. Knitting Needle (optional)









Getting Started:
A. Cut 6 pieces of fabric into 4 inch squares.
B. Cut 6 pieces of crinkly plastic into 3.5 inch squares.



C. Pin one piece of plastic to the wrong side of one piece of fabric



D. Pick any stich you want and sew the fabric to the plastic in any pattern you would like. I did this because it seemed like it would be a really big pain to have to pin the plastic to the fabric and the ribbon when sewing the entire thing together. It’s very slippery! So, to make it easier, sew it together before hand.

 

E. Repeat Steps C and D for all pieces of fabric. Note: Make sure to pull the loose top thread through to the bottom. Tie a knot with the top thread and the bottom thread on the wrong side of the fabric and cut ends.



F. Cut a bunch of Ribbon. I cut waaaaaay too much here. Cut however much you think you’ll need.   Use lighter to burn the ends of the ribbons to keep them from fraying if you want to.



G. Take your cutting board, ruler, and fabric marker and mark a dot 1/4 inch in from each corner, as shown. Do this for ALL corners on EVERY piece of fabric.



H. Decide on the pattern and lay them out in that pattern. Take the first two pieces. Lay the ribbon down in whatever pattern you desire on the right side of the bottom fabric and put the other piece on top of that. Right sides together! Pin the fabric together.



I. Sew the two pieces together using the dots that you marked in the corners as your guides. Make sure to start and stop on those dots. Back stitch to secure at each end.



J. Repeat steps H and I for the next two pieces of fabrics until you end up with this:



K. Now you’re going to take the next piece of fabric and pin it to the top of one of the middle pieces. Matching up the seams and dots. See below. Pictures often speak much clearer than words.



L. Sew these together. Remembering to start and stop at the dots and backstitching for extra security.



M. Do this again on the other side of the yellow, to end up with this:



N. Now, to start making the cube you’re going to sew (based on the above picture) the right side of the blue fabric to the top part of the green fabric. See below:

 

O. Next sew the purple to the green in the same fashion.



P. Sew the orange to the purple and the blue. We’re almost done!



Q. Sew the red to two sides, leaving one side completely open for now.



R. Sew the red and green together leaving a small opening that you will be able to turn the fabric through. I like having it in the middle since it’s easier to slip stitch the middle than it is to slip stitch the corner.



S. Turn right side out and start stuffing with Polyester Fiberfill! Use the knitting needle to get it down into the corners.




T. Finally, slip stitch the opening closed and (WOOHOO!) you’re done!!!!



Give to baby and let the fun begin!

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I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and that it was clear enough for you to follow! Let me know if you try it and how it goes!
Until tomorrow,
Amy

Work Week Wednesday - Rainbow Blocks in Progress

This past week I picked up some awesome solid colored fabrics in the shade of a rainbow. I'm going to be making Autumn some stuffed toys out of them. So far, I've only cut out the fabric for one block and sewed a few strips together for the other.

One block will have the full rainbow on each side. The other block will have one color per side with crinkly material underneath the fabric and ribbon sticking out of the sides.

Here's the long stripes that I've half sewn together in a Rainbow pattern and will be finishing the sewing and cutting them into squares to sew them into a block.

Sorry it's so dark.

I hope that I can finish these by next week and I'll post a tutorial on how to make the solid squares with the ribbon and crinkles.

Until tomorrow,
Amy

A Dress for My Girl

I've been awesomely busy yesterday and today with doing nothing. Why? Because something happened to my back/neck and I woke up Tuesday morning unable to turn my head in either direction. After 2 trips to the chiropractor, lots of ice therapy, and a whole lot of doing nothing, I can finally move my head side to side without feeling like it's going to snap off! Yay for progress!

I made this dress for Autumn, thinking it would fit her now, but it's huge! Apparently the sizing is totally off on the back of the patterns because seriously, it pretty much swallowed her whole. Here's a picture without her in it, obviously. I'll be sure to take another one when she fits. :)

 

It still needs a button on the back and some bloomers. It was a pretty quick project, thank goodness. I have decided, though, that I probably won't sew her any more clothes until she's a little bigger and stays in the same size for longer than a couple weeks. 

And just for fun, here's a picture of her chillin' in her swing. :) 

Part 4 of my birth story tomorrow.

Until then,
Amy

Work Week Wednesday - Dresses and Thank Yous

Work Week Wednesday. Ah... what have I been doing this week besides nursing baby Autumn, sleeping, eating, and watching tv? Well, I've at least made some progress on Z's dress finally! Remember D's dress? Here's a reminder for you: 

Now I'm making Z's dress out of the same pattern, but with different fabric. I've only been working on this for... 2 months now. Clearly sewing went on the back burner. Check out the progress so far:

I'm hoping to have this dress finished next week. I know I won't be able to finish it this week or weekend because we'll be having quite a few visitors. Tomorrow my Dad, Lynda, Aunt Gail, Uncle Tim, and cousins Jayci and Kirstin come to town. The day after they leave Dan's grandmother and Uncle Bob arrive. Then Meredith's sister arrives (she's clearly not in town for us... but still another person we know will be here!). The next week my Aunt Sherry is coming to town and possibly my freshman year roommate/friend Jessica will be visiting. A couple weeks after that (I HOPE!) Megan and Shane will be coming to see us. I love visitors!!

On another note... here's a bottle I picked up from Crate and Barrel for $3.95.

I bought it to use as a Thank You note deliverer for my midwife. I remember that during labor she kept saying that she wished she could bottle my attitude because it was so awesome. lol. So, I figured I'd send her her Thank You card inside the bottle. I'm still trying to figure out what else to put in there. Maybe some lifesaver candies... you know... because she was a lifesaver during labor. Okay it's not that creative... but hey, I can't think of everything! When this is finished, I shall post a picture. :)

Check back tomorrow for my 3rd installment in Autumn's birth story - The Recovery.

Until then,
Amy