Accomplishing Life Goals: Making A Quilt

One month after I moved to Korea I was determined I would make a quilt. I still didn't really know where the grocery store was, but I found the fabric market and bought fabric. Off and on for months I toyed with this fabric. I slowly cut one square here and one triangle there. Seven months ago was the last time I touched it. Finally this weekend, I decided it was now or never. I decided to make the whole quilt. In One Day. So I did.Now I'm kicking myself for not doing this sooner but I'm so amped up because I realized how easy it was and know that I can do it! In case you are thinking 'theres no way you made a whole quilt in a day' you are right. Here is what I did. Once I bought my fabric I decide I would do triangles. I begin cutting and sewing them into squares using this trick. So before I started this weekend, all my fabric was cut and I had all my squares (2 triangles sewn together). This is the worst part for me. I think that is why it has taken me so long. I do not like the tedious cutting and sewing of these little pieces. I like the progress and obvious accomplishment that comes from assembling the bigger parts. But, this weekend I sewed all the triangle/squares in big diamonds, then into rows, then into a top. I sewed the back together. I sandwiched, stitched my signature and sewed the first round of the binding all from about 2pm on Saturday afternoon to 2am. But then I realized I had messed up the binding and had to take it off two sides. Which I did. Then it was 2am and I was bleeding (from stabbing myself with my seam ripper), so I decided that the last pass through the sewing machine would be a lot less traumatic and would be incident free if I waited until morning with fresh eyes to finish it well. I'm so glad I made this choice. It only took about 30 minutes to finish up the binding and stare in disbelief at a finished quilt.So there you have it, 7 months of fiddling around, 1 solid day of work plus a few minutes of 'finishing touches' to make a quilt. I'm totally hooked now. I have so many ideas and have figured out the parts I do and don't like, so now I'm ready to try more with that in mind. I ordered more batting last night (warm and natural) and this is my next project. I've been pinning quilts and tips like crazy, so be sure to follow that pin board if you like quilting!     Things I learned that may be helpful tips for a first time quilt maker: 

• Read the instructions all the way through one time so you have a general idea of the bigger picture and have all your materials. Then don't ever look farther ahead than your current/next step.
• Dont get overwhelmed! Just work through each step, one at a time. Dont worry about the next steps or the parts that are scary. As long as you can sew two things together you can do each step!
• Batting is such a hard choice to make! I really struggled to find batting here in Korea and when I did, I did not like the quality. My quilt is so stiff and heavy it can almost stand up on its own. I have ordered some for my next project online from the recommendation of a friend.
• Bigger is better and goes much faster. Since I don't really like the tedious sewing part I will focus on making smaller projects for the tedious sewing or using large fabric pieces for the larger projects.
• I am also not a very precise sewer. If you look at my quilt top, the diamonds get really wonky and off-center. So I will be choosing patterns that don't matter above exact precision.
• The main thing that I was confused about and learned so much about was the binding. I honestly could NOT understand how that would work. Even looking at photo tutorials, I was so confused. This, plus my last part about not being precise, is why I had to redo it. But now I understand how it works (again just follow the steps even if they are confusing) and know how to better align (more evenly with the fold over in mind) my fabric and where to sew next time (towards the edge).
• Patterns. I really ended up not liking the diamonds and good lord they were difficult to arrange and keep laid out correctly. Never again. I will go with completely random or a fade or stripes, something that is much easier to maintain and not mess up.
• The back is my favorite. I love that you can see the pattern of the stitching. I love the bold stripes. It was quick, easy and I am pretending like that's the front.
• I will be cutting loose strings until the day I die. They are everywhere and just keep appearing. Any tips for getting rid of them easier?!
• I prewashed my fabrics, so I'm really anxious/nervous to see how it holds up in the wash. EEK!
• I was most worried about being able to shove the entire quilt through my machine at once, but it was so much easier than I thought. Still really annoying but totally doable. You must roll the quilt up to get it through the side.
• I used the Get Quilty ecourse for my guide and it was an invaluable help!

Thats it! There's my quilt. With limited sewing skills and a challenge to just do it. I did! Please share any quilt tips or favorite quilters in the comments!