Brick Path Quilt

I finished the brick path quilt. Hoorah! I ended up attaching the binding by machine after an hour and a half of hand sewing only resulted in a foot of the binding being sewn. At that rate, it would have taken me weeks to sew the binding by hand. Despite this, I'm really happy with my first quilt.


For the back, I pieced together some leftover scraps from the top. I love how it turned out. I also love the crinkly goodness that resulted after it was washed and dried.


Some things I learned about quilting during this project:

1) Cutting accurately is the hardest part. A rotary cutter and mat are my friends. However, this pattern is so forgiving that it doesn't matter that I cut a few of the first fabrics less than stellar.

2) It's easy to overthink the layout. I spent at least a good two hours just staring at my quilt top and rearranging the pieces, and I could have easily spent a lot more time doing this.

3) Taking the time to make sure everything is smooth when basting together the back, batting, and top is worth it. I hardly had any puckers!

4) My machine is adequate for quilting. I was a little worried that my basic Singer wouldn't be up to the task of quilting. Could I fit all that fabric through the arm? Yes, and I could have fit more. The trick is rolling it up and starting the quilting from the middle. Worked like a charm. The walking foot was definitely helpful.

5) Quilting is fun! (Not that I needed to tell you that.)

I started the quilt mid-April and finished on May 21st. This is much sooner than I expected to finish! Thanks for playing along with my guessing game. I think Robyn had the closest guess (May 26th). Robyn, please send me your address and I'll try to send you something fun in the next month or so.


Ok, off to wrap myself in the quilt some more (and guard it from the cats who have been eyeing it covetously this whole time).

Determination

The quilt has been quilted. The instructions have you just turn it inside out and quilt it, but I like the look of binding so I decided to quilt it the "traditional" way. I followed the directions in Last Minute Patchwork to lay out the backing, batting, and quilt top. I really spent a lot of time making sure everything was smooth and I think it paid off. I only saw less than a handful of puckers on the back after I quilted it. Hey, now I don't think that's too bad for a first time quilter! Now all I need to do is bind it. I'm nearing the finish line...!


I've been thinking a lot about what I want to make after I finish the quilt. Ever since I saw Adrienne's post about the mini-wardrobe challenge, I've been thinking about my own mini-wardrobe storyboard. I would love to do this challenge, but with my next two weekends completely booked (and a possible move!), the end of May is not possible for me to finish four garments. So, I think I'll just do my own personal challenge and try to complete four coordinating garments by the end of June. To up the ante, I'd like to use patterns and fabrics from my stash. Here are the four patterns I'm currently contemplating. I already have fabrics in mind.

Saturday focus

My calendar turned out to be entirely free today. So when I woke up this morning, many sewing possibilities spun around in my mind. During my morning cup of tea, I pondered the big question, "What should I make today?". I needed to focus. My mind was all over the place. Should I design a garment?

Or should I start my friend's wedding quilt, (her wedding was last June!)?

Oh wait, don't I already have a quilt in progress?

Guess what I chose to do today? Yes, ladies and gents, I finished my Brick Path quilt top! I finished the backing today too. All I need to do now is quilt it, and bind it...

Juliet, oh Juliet

She's done! Katie's posts of her gorgeous Juliet gave me the motivation I needed to finally finish my own.

This is this first sweater and third item I've ever knit (I knit two dishcloths before this project). I immediately fell in love with the Juliet when I saw the pattern a few months ago. It is the reason I learned to knit.

After I finished knitting it, I wetblocked it. I can't tell you how nervous I was dunking it into a tub of water (it's 100% wool). I was very very careful. Luckily, all was ok.

I used Oasis Yarns Aussie Wool in Misty Blue. The yarn was a dream to knit with, though it is a little fuzzy. Overall, I love the final garment. I had read that the pattern runs large and so I knit the smallest size (XS). Unfortunately, I still find it to be slightly too big on me for my tastes.

I think this is going to be a Christmas gift for a friend who this will fit perfectly and who I know will appreciate the time that I've spent making it. I haven't given up on the pattern though. I just love it too much. I've already bought more yarn to attempt another one. This time I am going to use a single strand of worsted weight yarn (as opposed to the bulky yarn that the pattern calls for). Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Brown baggin' it

Well, not quite. More like fabric baggin' it.

This is my contribution for Oh Fransson's Lunchbox swap. I used her tutorial for the Little Shopping Bag, and let me tell you people, EASY PEASY! The hardest thing was deciding which fabric to use (I'm having major issues with indecision lately, but I digress). Even the grommets were easy, though it did take a little time to cut out grommet sized holes.


I'm envisioning many more of these. I think they'd be perfect for little presents or even as the gift wrapping for presents.

Laying bricks

Thank you so much for playing along in my "when will I finish this quilt" guessing game! It has definitely motivated me to work on this baby. So much so that I'm happy to report I finished cutting out all the "bricks" this weekend. The rotary cutter and mat definitely came in handy.

Last night I laid out the bricks. Whew! I can now understand how easy and frustrating it can be to over think a quilt layout. This morning I shifted a few pieces around ( I felt my eye being drawn to the dark green pieces too much) until I felt satisfied. Now it's on to piecing! That is, if I don't get sidetracked first...

Now taking bets

Quilts have been on my mind a lot lately. I am constantly calling my sister (my sewing partner in crime) during the day with excited exclamations about a quilt I just saw on flickr or read about in blogland. It is the number one item on my 2008 sewing resolution list afterall. It was about time I dived into this new to me sewing territory.

Hence, work on my Amy Butler Brick Path Quilt started this week. I think this will be a good getting-my-feet-wet-in-quilting project. I quickly learned what I hope is the hardest part of quilting: cutting accurately! I've never liked the cutting part of any project. If anyone has any tips on how to quickly yet accurately cut two hundred 4 1/2" by 7" rectangles, please share.

I am now taking bets on how long it will take me to complete this quilt. Seriously, I really would like to take bets. Maybe it will make me move a little faster on this. I might even send the person with the winning bet a prize! To help you guesstimate a little better, here's some info: I started this on Tuesday night and haven't touched it since. So far I've cut out 36 of the necessary 198 "bricks". I have all of the supplies I need for this quilt including the batting, backing, and machine quilting thread. I plan to work on this a lot until I get it done, BUT, I do have craft ADD and can't promise that I won't start another project before this one is done. "Finished" is defined as sewn, quilted, and washed. So go on, make a bet! (Pretty please!)

P.S. Don't worry, I won't be offended if you say twelve months or even five years so please don't be discouraged to make a guess.