Victory!

That's right people, I have conquered the baby quilt. See masterpiece below:

So, it turns out that for the better part of this week, binding was my nemesis. I can now safely say that the baby quilt in a box is definitely not for beginners. It's also not for those looking for a bargain, because even at the markdown price of $20, I could have done better on my own. It's really just for those who don't trust their own ability to put together a color scheme.

The instructions call for a binding made from the same fabric as the small pink fabric used in the quilt. I followed the instructions, but found it incredibly difficult to sew the long strips together to make one long strip. It just kept not coming out even. Frustrated, I forged ahead and started attaching the binding. Before doing so I had to check out multiple you tube videos, but eventually I thought I had it. Turns out I was wrong.

At this point I really had ruined the binding I had made (which wasn't any prize anyway) so I moved on to a store bought bias double fold quilt "tape". I went through multiple reads of the online instructions for this product and sewed it incorrectly once. Finally though, I conquered quilt tape. Having tried the make your own version, I'll definitely do the store bought again until I'm better at the general binding process.

Even once I understood it, the act was no piece of cake. You'll notice that the binding comes out at different widths all over the quilt and in one place I even manage to miss the quilt seam completely and bind the binding to itself. Luckily it's not visible. Next time though I think I'll do better although no illusions of grandeur for me yet when it comes to binding. I'm really thankful that this quilt forced me to do it, because after several attempts and fails, I genuinely considered giving up on this quilt. I just though that for future quilts, I'd do the full inside out deal and forget binding altogether. I'm glad I didn't though because I LOVE the way it looks. I hope my cousins think so too. I'm putting it in a box bound for Pennsylvania Monday but I'll visit it at Christmas when I meet Brooklyn for the first time.

These are some of the highs and lows of the binding results.

I started Elliott's quilt today as well and I'm looking forward to a smoother quilting experience this time. I am using 2 jersey knit fabrics though which are already proving to be a bit cumbersome. A challenge is good though. I really hope to be able to give Elliott's quilt a lot more quilting than Brooklyn's. I also hoping to really better the binding experience. After Elliott's quilt we have Dominic's quilt on tap which is planned to be the same quilt possibly with a different color binding. All very exciting and a lot of good practice.

Binding

Finished the quilting part last night and excitedly cut away the excess batting and backing. It looks like a real little quilt, but unfinished. I moved on to the binding.

I read the instructions.

Then I asked Robert to read the instructions.

Then I read them again.

Then I went to the computer and watched a youtube video. What did people do before youtube? Honestly, because I could have really screwed this one up. After watching the video a couple of times, I now think I know what I need to do. So I prepped the binding fabric last night by pressing it and cutting the ends at a 45 degree angle. Tonight I'll sew them together and begin the actual process of binding the edges. I'm pretty excited seeing as this is basically the last step.

I may decide to start working on my next quilt right away instead of working on that tunic dress. I figure this quilt will be about 20+ total hours of work, and since this quilt for Brooklyn and the next quilt for Elliot are baby gifts, I need to get them out into the world ASAP. Wondering how my chosen fabrics will do since I'm moving on from a quilt "kit" to fabrics of my own choosing. Should be exciting!

Happy feet

Finally armed with my new walking foot and cotton batting, I am finally back to work on Brooklyn's baby quilt. I basted the whole thing together fairly easily and with a little help from Robert to get the walking foot installed on my machine, I was off to the races. A how to video on You Tube suggested that I start quilting in the middle of the quilt and work my way out. I knew that quilting something so large on such a small machine would prove difficult, but since it was a baby quilt I didn't think it would be so bad. It's pretty tough.

As you can see in this photo, there's a lot of fabric jammed into that small space between the needle and the machine. I was able to quilt about 1/4 of the quilt before deciding to take a break examine my work.

Since I screwed up some of the measurements on the quilt squares, the lines across the quilt are not even. This means when I go to actually quilt horizontally (I've only done verticle lines so far) I'll have to cut through the quilt squares or sacfrice the perfect grid on the back of the quilt. I decided to cut through the squares and go for the perfect grid. It's easier almost than I thought except for wrangling the fabric. The end is in sight and I'm really excited to see it taking shape. I can definitely see myself becoming a regular quilter.

Sewing is expensive

So since my triumph a week ago, I haven't done much but prepare for new projects. I checked out an awesome fabric sale at Rimmon fabrics in West LA and came home with fabrics for several new projects. Decided to start with a lovely brown tunic dress out of the sewing tutorial. I was going to do a cute small handbag which I'd already bought fabric for, but alas the book didn't come with the pattern so I'd have to buy pattern paper and make my own. Apparently this is sold NO WHERE in LA so I'd have to buy it online. Seems like a rip-off so I moved on to the tunic dress for now.

As you may recollect, I also have an unfinished baby quilt

in my sewing basket. I had to buy a walking foot for my machine to quilt the quilt. Felt like this was a good investment since I love quilts and plan to make (and finish) at least three baby quilts by year end. Ordered it online and waited. Then realized I'd need batting, again, felt like Joann's was unreasonably priced for such iffy synthetic material. Ordered that online and I continue to wait.

I cut out my pattern pieces and fabric for the tunic dress over the weekend but I can't start sewing because I need a new needle for fine fabrics. Mine broke and I'm left with one that worked wonderfully on the canvasy tote, but that would not be so good on the delicate dress fabric. Bah. Also will need safety pins to baste the quilt, so a trip to Joann's tomorrow will be a necessity.

My husband is beginning to wonder if I'm throwing our money down a hole, and I have to admit this is a more expensive hobby than I would have thought. Handmade gifts seem so thoughtful and worthwhile but I also thought it was a money saver. Nope. Bought some fabric for a baby quilt and even with great sales and using only 3 fabrics, I still spent $25 on fabric, thread, and batting. I'm not exactly sure what baby quilts run in the stores, but I'm guessing something of the quality I'm capable of would be about $19.99. Oh and I forgot to find a fabric for the border. Bah again.

Here's some photos of the fabric for the new quilt, a new iron & ironing board (the sound of my 9 year old iron crapping out sounded suspiciously like "cah ching!"), and the nearly recognizable form of a dress cut out which reminds me rather a lot of the clothes I had for paper dolls as a kid.

Fin

Finished the tote bag this morning. Robert sewed the straps, which seemed to do better with a thicker needle (which we found out only after the first needle broke). The liner went in nicely, although it somehow was a good 1/2 smaller than the outside bag, which isn't good for business. Also, the bad top seam I mentioned in my previous post turned out to be a real downer when the bag was put together. In hindsight I should have re-sewn that seam.

I think I should probably re-make this bag with new fabric. The second time around it's sure to be a bit easier and thus, nicer. Maybe I'll make one with one of my nieces in mind. I'd also like to try the larger single strap version and maybe add some buttons for accents.


Anyway, here's the finished product.

I'm off today to the fabric store to buy more STUFF. This hobby is getting pretty expensive and so far all I have to show for it is a poorly assembled handbag. On today's shopping list: walking foot, batting, pattern paper and a snap. Tomorrow there's a big sale at Rimmon fabrics in West LA, so I'm hoping to procure fabrics for another baby quilt, another tote bag, and possibly a pair of stuff elephants.