Saturday, January 10, 2009

My first finished quilt.

Well I finally did it. I started AND finished a quilt.

I've loved blankets and quilts for as long as I can remember. I fell in love with quilting itself about 4-5 years ago. Ryan was deployed, and I was convinced I would spend my time making quilts. I've gotten books, supplies, fabric, everything I need to complete a quilt.

And yet here it is, 4+ years later and I have ONE quilt to show for myself.


Don't get me wrong. I've had many quilt tops and partial quilt tops made with the intention of finishing them... But a good intention is just that - an intention.


Unfortunately it was a tragedy that spurred me onto making and completing this quilt.

You see, a dear sweet military wife had to ring in the New Year hearing the news that her husband of less than a year (and daddy to their 10 month old) was killed in Iraq.


It was my greatest honor to be able to make this quilt for her and her son. I was so proud of it, and so proud of her and her husband and their sacrifice. I long for the day when we stop hearing news of soldiers dying, but I am so incredibly proud of what they're doing over there.


One really good thing that came out of this quilt is that I learned that I am capable of completing a quilt (start to finish!) in 2 days! That includes hand stitching the binding on!

And I know I've promised probably every year that I am going to make quilts as gifts, but this quilt was motivation to actually follow through! Knowing that I CAN do it, and that the binding isn't as hard as I thought (just time consuming). Honestly, the only obstacle would be money - I REALLY prefer quilt shop fabric (as opposed to Jo Ann fabrics or Hancock) and it's significantly pricier to get fabric there. This quilt cost roughly $60, not including batting (which I discovered I already had, so I don't remember how much it cost). I do have a lot of great scraps left over though, so I plan on making other fun things with this awesome material!

10 comments:

  1. My mom started a quilt ages ago (I can't remember when, but before I can remember if I was even alive yet), and I remember when she finally decided to just pay someone to put the backing and the padding on to it and quilt it together for her (she had just done the front piece). Sometimes it's hard to take the last steps to just finish something!! I know this, too, with the various craft and art things I do myself!!

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  2. Wow! that looks great! Congrats!
    I knew you had a blog it only took me forever to find you again.
    I agree it can be really expensive. I think that's why so many people use so much solid fabric.
    Love your border fabric btw!

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  3. That quilt is BEAUTIFUL. I couldn't believe you gave away your first quilt, until I read on...how sad :( How nice of you to bless them with that awesome quilt!

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  4. That is great, I'm so happy for you. I really want to tackle a big quilt.

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  5. Good for you!! You did a fantastic job, and that last picture is ADORABLE!!

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  6. I could never do a blanket or a quilt, so I salute you, Madam Morgan. *SALUTES*

    And I'm so proud of you for being generous, loving and caring to your friend. She is blessed, as are you.

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  7. And oh, thanks for not letting us have to type in the "captcha" thingy for comments :P Hehe!

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  8. wow - I love quilts, but I'm pretty sure my cut-out pieces would languish, unattended for decades if I attempted to start one! Good for you!

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