I recently stumbled into the wild, wonderful world of quilting, and boy, has it been a ride so far! There is so much to see and learn, and I'm eager for all of it! I can't tell you how many websites and blogs I've visited over the past few weeks, picking up ideas and tips and trying to figure out where and how to start. And there's still tons more for me to do!
To start out, I don't know that much about sewing. I can do a few basic types of stitches, but that's about it. I don't have a sewing machine, so I'm taking a hand-sewing approach until I feel like I know a little more (and want to stick with it!) to make buying a machine a worthwhile investment for my oh-so-paltry funds.
So far I'm taking the "try to teach yourself and learn as you go along" approach to things, which has (mostly) worked out to my advantage in the past. While I can be a bit of a perfectionist, I know that there will be a steep learning curve here, and I think that along with helping me to learn a great skill and produce some beautiful things for the various people I love in my life (and hopefully make some friends with you all on here along the way!), learning how to be *NOT* perfect will be really good for me. :)
I have always thought quilts were really beautiful pieces of work, and have on and off over the years toyed with the idea of learning how to make them. I went through various crafty phases with knitting, latch hook and other pursuits, but at the back of my mind, quilting was always there. I had some quilted baby blankets as a child that my mother made - big cartoon character pieces where the quilting was just done around the printed figures - but there were also some pretty pillows that I would lay on the couch and trace my finger around and around...I think they were variations on Log Cabin. Anyway, I finally decided to take the plunge NOW after, oddly enough, buying an apron. I bought it from a vendor on etsy who'd made it out of the beautiful Alexander Henry Spotted Owl fabric. That led to me looking up other owl-themed fabrics online (I love owls!) just for the fun of it, and somehow I ended up at a random quilter's blog who'd made something owl-y...and the rest is history! I don't remember which blog that was now, unfortunately, but she sang high praise for Moda's charm packs. A little bit of googling, and here we are today.
My first project is the pretty lap quilt Blissful Confection from the Moda Bakeshop. I thought it seemed like something not *too* incredibly complicated for me to try to figure out, but that wouldn't be too boring or overly simple, either (not that there's anything wrong with simple!) And just about everyone I've read online adores this fabric. After receiving the Bliss Layer Cake and going to town cutting my pieces out, I can't help but agree! It's lovely.
So. Here's what I've done so far. I know it's not much, and that doing all the sewing by hand will take me a lot longer than a machine might, but it's what I've got to work with right now. And that just has to be good enough :)
Thanks for joining me on this creative ride! I hope you'll be free with any tricks of the trade you've picked up during your time quilting - I'm an excellent pupil and want to learn from the best!
Peace,
~moon
