Monday, September 22, 2008

Quilting 101

When I started sewing Roger told me he wanted a quilt made out of sheets. I completely did not understand how to make a quilt but decided I could come up with a quilt for Roger for Christmas 2003. I sewed 3 sides together of 2 sheets then placed batting squares in 1 at a time and sewed around each batting squares making a queen size "quilt". After 3 hours my project was finished. As silly as it is this has been a nice cool blanket that we have kept under out nice, hot duvet cover and down comforter. With back light you can see my masterpiece.


A few years later I enlisted my sister in law Lena's help to teach me how to quilt. I made a little doll blanket and felt more knowledgeable. I decided to make a quilt for Rory. I copied an idea from Pottery Barn kids and started making the quilt with no pattern. It made my brain hurt. While I was making this quilt that would turn out to be smaller than twin size, we switched Rory's twin size bed for a queen. Thwarted, I almost gave up but eventually finished. It lays on her now full size bed and she loves it.


Roger started craving a quilt that would cover our now King size bed, that would be super cool and super soft. His birthday was coming up so I secretly extracted colors he liked together and found a pattern from an awesome quilter in my ward. I bought a sheet set online to be the backing of the quilt. The week of Hero camp I went to a few fabric stores and eventually found a line of fabric that was just the right colors. Off I started without knowing exactly what I was getting into nor the price that I was up against (I won't tell you how much but it was A LOT).
I only had a week till his birthday so I kept it a secret until then. I spent 3 hours almost everyday for 3 weeks on this quilt in addition to keeping my house in order and kids entertained. I sewed and sewed. After a few weeks I took it to a nearby quilter to machine quilt this 100X100 quilt. She gave it back the next day and I was sure I would be able to bind it in a week. Hah! Hah, Hah, Hah! Hand stitching took me almost another month! As of a couple days ago I am DONE!!! Not as exciting for anyone as much as for me, I know. Here are a couple notes
-I did not expect it to be so busy looking- ie- I could not see the end when I started
- "Warm and White" batting really is nice and cool
-The quilt shrunk a bit when quilted
- sheets are nice and soft but does not please the quilter
-Josh is an AWESOME ironer. Seriously awesome to not have to iron the whole thing








Here are 3 bags I made in the meantime. I really like them (especially the giraffe print)!




I realized I have not taken very many pictures of the bags I have made (cuz I have made many) so I tracked these bags down at church. I made them earlier this year.

Good Fun!

8 comments:

Kristen said...

I am totally impressed with your quilting skills and I love the bags, especially the polka dotted one!

Jenn said...

Holy Cow, how do you have the time! They are all brilliant. And you can see just how much you have improved. I love the new quilt, and I think the fabrics look awesome together.

emH said...

You now have two votes on the polkadots, but truly they're all lovely. Quilting is a passion I don't quite have, and I loved the way you described the tedium of making it all fit together. Its gray hairs to me. What an amazing work you've done though! Praises to you for getting it done. You are a creative genius.

Kirbell said...

Yeah, I'm partial to the polka-dot bag, too. Some lucky girl who gets to carry that one around at church! :-)

Melissa said...

Kelly,
You are a domestic goddess! I am very impressed!
I love your temple post and girlfriends post. Your blog sure is "good fun" to read!

Berly said...

Way to go Kelly. So talented. I also like the polka dots!!

pcerik said...

Okay, now I feel like a total domestic loser...

The Gale Family said...

Does your title say "Quiting" without the L on purpose? Roger's quilt turned out great. Being crafty is nifty and fun.