D.O.N.E. done!

I finished the quilt! With time to spare!!!!! As you know, I started on the binding yesterday morning, but because we went to IKEA, I didn’t have the oh-sew-important nap time to work (see what I did there? haha). Last night, after Zac went to bed, I curled up on the couch with my husband, a drink, the quilt, needle & thread, and got to work. 2 and a half hours and 3 beers later, I finished. I love this quilt, and while I know that my 2-year-old has no idea the time and energy that went into it, one day he will. For now, he can look and say “tuk! car! go!!!” and I’m OK with that.

The binding, while time consuming, was not as terrible as I anticipated. I stabbed myself repeatedly with the needle, and I now know why seamstresses wear thimbles on their thumbs, because pushing that needle through three layers of flannel was painful. The finished product though was worth the extra effort.

This quilt measures 41″ by 53″. I used 6 different flannel patterns for the blocks of the quilt, grey flannel for the sashing, aqua blue flannel for the back, and the yellow polka-dot flannel for the binding. The batting is 100% cotton. I had extra car fabric because I got 1 yard instead of the 1/2 yard I ordered (yippee), and because I’m me, I used that to make a pillow case to match.

Not sure if I’ll blog again before Christmas, so I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! I hope your holiday is filled with joy, and wish you all many blessings in the new year. 2013 was an amazing year for me and my business. I did over 200 sales on Etsy, made 15 quilts for customers (maybe more, I lost count), and purchased the embroidery machine. I am so excited about what’s in store for 2014, so stay tuned!

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Binding the quilt

Because of an impromptu trip to
Ikea to have lunch with my sister and parents, I didn’t finish the quilt today. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel though, and hopefully I can curl up on the couch with a beer after Zac goes to bed and knock this out.

This morning, I sewed the binding onto the front of the quilt, and I’ve begun hand stitching it to the back. Definitely more tedious that is anticipated.

Here are pictures of today’s progress.

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A Mother’s Quilt

This is a busy time if year for everybody, myself included. Christmas and graduation are the most popular times for t-shirt quilts. Last week, I finished 2 quilts, I have 5 to do before Christmas, and then 2 more after that. Because many of these are gifts, I won’t share them on the blog till after Christmas, but this blanket was for a friend.

Jenica and I taught at the same elementary school and have been friends ever since. She has two daughters, her youngest is just a few weeks older then my son. She asked me a long time ago about compiling her daughters’ outfits into an adult sized blanket for her. After making the December Darlings quilt over the summer, I had a pattern and was ready to create Jenica’s keepsake.

This blanket uses 32 outfits and 32 flannel squares, each cut 7″ square. I tried my best to keep the dresses intact with ruffles, and am pleased with how that turned out. The blanket has a double flannel border and is backed with anti-pill fleece. Finished, this blanket measures approximately 70″ square. What makes this blanket so sentimental is that many of the outfits were worn by both sisters, and then there are several where the girls have matching personalized shirts. I did my best to keep the coordinating shirts beside one another.

Many friends have expressed interest in the baby blankets made with newborn onesies, but their kids are older and they didn’t save enough. This blanket has 7 years worth of outfits. It’s never too late to start saving clothing, and really, a quilt is a much better way to preserve these childhood memories than storing them in the attic.

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