Enjoying It.

She finally came.

So I've spent the last few enjoying it...all of it!
I might be back at some point. 
We'll see.
It was hard to put her down long enough to type this.
Getting NOthing done!
Nothing at all.
Just...enjoying it.

YOU Can Make a QuiLt...I have proof.

I have wanted to attempt the quilt for quite some time now, but had absolutely no idea where to begin with one.  Really, no idea.  I was scared.  So I put it off.  Over and over again.  But with a new little one coming I was feeling inspired to give it a go...somehow.  I've come to learn that the Internet can 'teach' you to do pretty much anything.  So I logged on and I searched and searched until I finally came across this, a beginning quilting series from Diary of a Quilter...she made me believe.  She's got ALL the steps spelled out for you in black and white, from what supplies to start with all the way to binding your quilt...and she's so easy to follow!  I was actually excited to get going!

So I went through my scraps...I didn't want to go out and purchase a bunch of fabric, just in case things went amiss.  I knew I wanted to use different textures and patterns since I would be using this as a little tummy time mat for baby.  So I got creative and pulled out some knit, minky, and even a ruffled pillow sham that I had left over from the nursery pillows.

I cut the back off the sham...

Then cut my squares with my rotary cutter...I used 5 inch squares.

Then it was time to lay out my squares in the pattern I thought worked.

Then following the instructions from Diary of a Quilter I started piecing my quilt and made rows with my squares...

And ironed my seams...the iron will become your very best friend during this project!

Next I sewed my rows together.

And it started to look like something that resembled an actual quilt.  I added my borders and batting and backing and really started to get excited because there were now layers to my quilt.  But the excitement came to a screeching halt when I learned that I had to baste my quilt.  Huh!?  I had never heard of such a thing!  Who knew this step existed?  And that there was spray and special basting pins involved.  Well, I was on a roll and wasn't about to throw in the towel at this point, so even with being ill prepared and without proper equipment...I rolled on, with regular old safety pins.  And I'll tell you, they worked just fine. 

Okay, so this is where I started to get a little nervous.  It was time to actually quilt...that is to say, SeW.  Preferably in straight lines.  And because I was a little lazy (and really anxious to finish) I totally skipped a step and didn't draw lines to mark where to sew...such a rebel.  I just eyeballed my way through, and do you know, some of the lines actually lined up!

So at this point I am jumping up and down that I might actually see this thing through.  All there was left to do was finish with a little binding.  So I cut my strips and pinned...

And I FINISHED that quilt!

So there it is...PrOof.

Because if I can do it, YOU certainly can too!