I learned how to use a sewing machine almost exactly a year ago today. As soon as I got into it, I decided I wanted to make a quilt, but I knew it was a big undertaking, and so it took me a year to decide to finally do it. (The whole explanation of the process and selections is below, if you care to read on.)
Without further ado, here is my first quilt, which I have named Hope for the Future.
I had been eyeing a collection of fabric (House and Garden by Cloud 9) since I saw it at Joann a few weeks ago and I knew it was what I wanted my first quilt to be made from. I used ten of the twelve fabrics on the quilt. I absolutely love the mix of the herringbone fabrics mixed with the directional prints like houses, flowers and trees. I chose a simple four-strip block that I saw on Pinterest. Each block looks as if it just has two different strips running down it.
I decided to straight line quilt because a. I love how clean it looks, especially with this block pattern, and b. I am too scared to try another style of quilting just yet. I didn't even quilt it all the way across. I just picked 14 lines on either side of certain seams, and I used painter's tape to help me keep my lines straight. I like how it turned out.
I chose a bright aqua/teal for the back because my thread (Gutterman 607) was aqua and I didn't want my quilting to stand out too much since it was my first time.
I made the quilt in three (long) sittings: 1. cutting, piecing and sewing the blocks; 2. sewing together all the blocks and rows; 3. adding the batting and backing, pinning, quilting and binding!
I used a sort of 'cheater method' for the binding that my quilting friend Leah told me about. I just made the backing about an inch bigger than the top on all sides, and folded over twice with a mitered corner to create binding. Super simple - except if your backing fabric isn't big enough. I knew I was cutting it close, but I think the lady at the cutting counter didn't do a great job of measuring. I ended up having to trim an inch off of both sides to make it work. So it's not actually a square, but I like how it looks.
It's not perfect, but I am super happy with how it turned out!
