Monday, January 24, 2011

Quilts, etc.


Well, I hoped to post pics of some quilts I made lately, but my pictures disappeared! I used my i-phone, loaded the photos on the computer, and -poof! They are gone. Not on my phone or computer. I'll just tell you about them, and hopefully I can figure out a way to get pictures.




So, after we came home from Stanford in October, I decided I wanted to make a quilt for the family we stayed with as a thank you. I bought the fabric, and then did nothing for about a month. Then I got excited about it again, and started working on it, thinking maybe I could have it done by Thanksgiving. Ha! Thanksgiving came and went and my new goal was Christmas, which passed with no quilt. Finally, the first week of January, I finished it. It was really adorable- muted blues, browns, cream, dusty rose, and deep burgundy. I did some appliqueing on it in kind of a raw-edge style, so once you wash it the edges get all frayed and soft.


I mailed it off, and then had the brilliant idea of making a quilt for my mom's birthday in -yikes- 2 weeks! I called my sisters with my harebrained idea, and they all pitched in to buy the materials for it. It didn't take too long to get the quilt top done, I think a week. Then the quilting began. Uuggh- the quilting. I divided the quilt (I think it was 55"x70") into 5 vertical sections. Three sections I did in a close, straight line quilting. The other two were done in a close, wavy stitch. It took soo long. I need the quilt done on a Saturday morning. It's Friday evening, and I still have two sections to quilt, and a binding to do, and dinner plans with my parents. So, we go to dinner, and on the way home we stop to buy more brown thread (I'm all out at this point). It's 8:05, and I try to run in to Hobby Lobby to get it. Well, they close at 8, and although they are still checking people out, and I know exactly where to get what I need, they won't let me. Great. SO I go to Wal Mart. They don't have any large spools of brown thread, only small. So I buy a ton (I don't want to run out again!), go home and start quilting. Immediately I realize the thread is a lot thicker, but it isn't too noticeable, and I'm desperate, so I keep plugging along. Three rows of quilting into it, I decide I should check the back of the quilt and make sure the tension of the thread is alright. Gasp! The back is a loopy mess! The thread is soo thick, it wont go through the fabric properly. I could have cried. It is now 9:30, all the other fabric stores are closed, so I try a different Wal Mart, 15 minutes away. They have plenty of thread, and I get what I need. I'm home by 10:15 pm and realize there is no way I will have this quilt ready for my sister to take to my mom at 10 am. SO I call her and let her know, and took some pics and sent them to her phone so she could at least show my mom what she will be getting.


I decided to start undoing all of my ugly stitches that night, and while I am sprawled on top of the quilt, i didn't pay attention to where I placed my arm, and stuck it right on top of a thick, long, lethal looking pin. It hurt soo much! Of course, Adam laughed at me, because he always steps on random pins I've left on the ground. Then I pulled down my sleeve and when he saw how much I was bleeding from it, he felt bad. At that point, I gave up for the night. By Wednesday, I was able to finish the quilt, and my sister took it to my mom. She absolutely loved it, which was good, because I was going to take it back if she didn't! I still have a bruise on my arm from that pin, a week and a half later!


The same day I finished the quilt, I had to make two quilt squares for a project I was working on with some neighbors. Of course it got done last minute, but they turned out very cute. Then, sick of quilting, I made an adorable valentines skirt for Taylor. Now, I'm working on finishing a quilt for her that I started while I was pregnant with Asher. This time, I'm going to pay to have it professionally quilted!

1 comment:

  1. oh the pains that only a fellow quilter like myself can imagine. It sounds way cute I hope you find the picts.

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