My first finish! :)

Here it is...my first finished quilt ever. 

And here is the pierced back:

I kept it super simple and quilted in the ditch along the zig zags.  It's not perfect but I"m happy with it and I'm so excited to donate it to Linus Project  :)

Hopefully it is just the first of many to come.

My first quilt top!

Lately, I've completely fallen head over heels for quilting, which I had never tried before.  There are so many wonderful blogs showing all the beautiful quilts that people are making. 

I wanted to start off with something small.  My baby doesn't really need another blanket, but there are lots of kids out there that do so I decided I wanted make a crib sized quilt for charity.  I did a little digging and found out that there is a local chapter of Project Linus in my city and contacted the coordinator to make sure what I made would fit into their requirements.  I used a bunch of flannel in my stash (which I got super cheap at a couple of yard sales) and a free online tutorial for a super easy zig zag pattern, which I thought would be appropriate for a Peanuts themed charity.  Here my first quilt top ever:

 

I can't say that I enjoyed the cutting part very much.  I actualy changed the pattern and did diagnal zig zags because it required less blocks/cutting.  I need to get a decent cutting mat and ruler so that it will be a lot more painless next time.  The ruler I ordered online but I"m waiting for a decent sale for a mat.  I definitely had sticker shock when I saw that a mid-sized mat at the fabric store is about $50.  I've been trying to find one second hand but really doubt I'll find one that way. 

The piercing part went quite smoothly.  The floral flannel is a bit thinner than the solid ones so it moved/stretched a bit when I sewed so those seamed didn't line up perfectly.  It certainly helped that there are very few seams that need to be lined up perfectly for this pattern!   

Since my flannel fabric is not wide enough, my next step is to pierce the back...then it's onto basting, quilting and binding!

In the beginning

Here we go, my first post on my new blog!  Since my mom has sewed and knitted most of her life, I learned to do so as well very early on.  I remember knitting and sewing clothes for my dolls when I was 5 or 6.  However, my love of sewing really took off when I got pregnant a few years ago.  I spent hours everyday making things for the little one growing inside me.  I guess it was my version of "nesting".  :)  Ever since then, I have loved looking through all the different amazing blogs about sewing and finding great ideas and tutorials I've put to good use.  To make it more fun, I thought I'd join in all the blogging fun!