It took me over a year to make it, but I finished it. I actually finished it around the first of the year and it has taken me this long to actually document it here.
I have always wanted to try quilting...and I mean "machine quilting". My very talented and crafty friend, Morgan Moore gave me the idea of using up scraps of fabric to make this quilt. (You need to click on the link and look at how adorable her quilt is as well as check out her cute blog.)
So I cut out 4 inch squares, and yes that means I have tons of scraps of fabric that are pretty big for being scraps. My husband was all too glad that I was using up fabric for something useful. Thankfully my sister is a quilter and I happened to be up visiting my family when I started sewing them together. She taught me the shortcut way of how to lay them out and put them together. So much easier than what I was going to do and it saved on thread.
I loved sewing these together as I thought about each piece of fabric and where it came from. It was quite a ride down memory lane and quite a pattern in my own life of things I have accomplished, people I have met, and of my family. I love sewing just because of the time I am able to reflect on life. This quilt made it even more special.
For the back I used this old big piece of heavy denim. I don't know why I kept it so long, but as you can see from the picture there were a few flaws in the fabric. This fabric was the perfect size and I loved the thickness of it as this is the quilt we keep in the car for the park or the beach. I knew this denim would keep the moisture away and would stand up to any beating my children gave it. I have no quilting frames and so I cheated my way through actually sewing the front, back, and batting together. There are a few tucks here and there, but only noticeable if you are looking for them. The machine I was using is old and I have never been able to get the tension just right. I used red thread and did a zigzag stitch.
I bound it with red double fold biased tape. And...I love, love, love how it turned out.
Will I ever make a quilt again? I don't know. I don't think I can really say one way or the other. I can say that I will not be buying a walking foot for my Bernina any time soon as they are so expensive AND I do not want to sew again on the other machine I used for this quilt.
So for now I will just focus on the quilt of my own life and what patterns there are for me to see and work with:
“Patience is tied very closely to faith in our Heavenly Father. Actually, when we are unduly impatient, we are suggesting that we know what is best—better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His. We can grow in faith only if we are willing to wait patiently for God's purposes and patterns to unfold in our lives, on His timetable.”
Neal A. Maxwell
