Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Tada..My very first Quilt!

Now that the label is on, it is truly finished and so I thought today I would share with you the adventure of my very first quilt and some of the pictures I took the other night.

It’s very blue and quite crooked but I’m really happy with it and just love it.

I don’t remember what sparked this obsession but one day I decided I would like to make a quilt ( however as my mum would say- unlike any other normal person I decided to leap into making a full size quilt after having only done a small wonky pinwheel block! haha)

I really had no idea what I was doing and it was very much “a learn as you go” experience but I needed the challenge and loved it. I found a very basic Kids craft and sewing book that taught me the basics like how to sew triangles and squares together and I did a lot of googling ( if that’s a word?) on quilting basics and used up all the printer ink on quilt pictures.

I came across The Owl fabric and absolutely adored it and I think it was the start of my slight owl obsession. I wanted to make it the feature/ main fabric but unfortunately I had very little of it and could only just get 18 smallish squares out of it. I thought it needed to be in a square otherwise I would end up losing the owls so I chose a simple four patch, which meant I could have two squares of wonderful owl fabric per block!



I had a rough idea of what I wanted the quilt to look like so I drew a picture and decided I wanted the quilt to be mainly blue because it's my favourite colour and so it would match my feature wall. My mum also thought I was completely crazy and doubted that I would actually make one so she refused to buy anymore fabric and all I had was various shades of blue so lucky I love blue!

For a while I was a bit upset with its unevenness and my inability to cut a straight line and I don’t think using a normal ruler and scissors/rotary cutter was really helping. Eventually I discovered quilting rulers and that certainly made life easier! But I accepted the fact that perhaps I just cant cut a completely accurate line and in the end I decided that it wasn’t perfect but neither was I so that’s ok.

I think it took me about 5 or 6 months- I couldn’t find the right backing/ binding fabric for a while but that gave me time to research how to finish it, especially the quilting part. Having a lot of study and exams in the second half of the year also meant I didn’t have a lot of time.

The backing and binding fabric I got from my favourite shop Patchwork House which a friend at my Dads work introduced me to. They people there were so friendly and helpful. They suggested I go with a red binding, which I was a bit unsure about at the time because I hadn’t thought of using red, I just knew it couldn’t be blue. In the end I think I’m glad I chose red because it makes the owl fabric stand out more.

The backing fabric my dad and the lovely people at Patchwork House, helped me choose and I just adore the fabric, I love the colour and the little birds.


The quilting was a bit of an adventure in itself and I did struggle at times with stitching (in) the ditch. It was like a war with the quilt and me at some points because it kept wanting to go left!
I also had a bit of a tension issue on the 2nd half of the quilt, which I couldn’t seem to fix entirely but oh well.
I finished it on the 2nd of October 2009! My Grandma was coming to visit us from Perth the next day and she had given me the sewing machine for my birthday so I really wanted to finish the quilt in time. I think I stayed up until two in the morning sewing on the binding, so I was quite tired and had very sore fingers in the morning but I had finished it! and my Grandma was so happy to be able to see it. I was also wanted to finish it before my exams started otherwise I was worried I might not for a long time when I was so close.

 Surprisingly I think it actually helped me going into exam time and I ended up doing really well in my exams so I think it gave me the confidence I needed and put me in the right mindset. It’s a bit difficult to explain and probably sounds a bit funny but I thought to myself that if I can make a quilt and not really know what I am doing then really anything is possible and I can do anything if I set my mind to it.

Here are some more of the pictures I took the other night : )





I’m sorry this post is a bit long winded but I hope you enjoyed reading about the adventure of my first quilt and hopefully I might inspire other people out there to give quilting a go and that really anyone of any age with a love of fabric and sewing and a bit of patience can make a quilt : )

Hope your having a great day,
Miranda & Charlie




7 comments:

  1. Hi Miranda,
    Your first quilt is LOVELY! You should be really happy with it. As for anyone out there reading your blog, it takes a while for that to happen. But stay with it in the mean time! I look forward to seeing more from you. BTW, I found your link on the Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild. I'm no expert (I only have 9 followers after 6 months of blogging), but following other people's blog is a good way for other people to find out about you. Also, commenting on other people's blog helps them identify you. Good luck!

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  2. Hi Sarah,
    Thanks, I was looking at your beautiful quilts before and they are amazing!
    I am hoping to try and post more often as I am working on a couple of other smaller quilts at the moment which I cant wait to share,but it is quite difficult when you are doing year 12.
    Thankyou for your encouragement also :) I feel like I am talking to myself a bit sometimes so I was very excited to see my first comment!
    Have a great week.
    Miranda

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  3. Wow! Year 12! You would be super busy with that. Good luck with your studies. I really feel for you because I found it difficult to keep up the enthusiasm right through to the end of year 12. Having a creative outlet like quilting may be just the thing you need!

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  4. You have made an amazing first quilt - I haven't finished the first one I started a lot of years ago. I love the way you have used the combination of blues and the owl fabric truly is gorgeous. I found you on the Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild while I was looking around to see who was there. Hobbies are a good stress outlet when you are studying. Quilting is full of logic and numbers, lots of reading of blogs and patterns, and the fabric and colour selections are all valuable experience for formal studies. Enjoy

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  5. Miranda, your first quilt is so beautiful and I know you will treasure it for the rest of your life. I adore that owl fabric... very cute!! I bet your next quilt will be even more fabulous. Good luck with year 12. Take care and keep up the excellent quilting. Adele

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  6. Loved reading about your first quilt and finding you through your guest post back in 2010 on Madam Samm's blog. (previously called Stash Manicure). I have been out of the blogging loop since November 2012, due to moving...but came across your guest post and had to stop over. Hope all is well :o)

    Blessings & Aloha!

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Thankyou so much for your comments, I really appreciate your support and encouragement and I always enjoy reading them :) If you have any questions feel free to ask, Thanks for stopping by!
Hope your having a lovely day :)