I think I’m possessed. What else can possibly explain the fact that I’m laying in bed at 12:52 and thinking these totally-foreign-for-me words: “I’m so excited about my quilt I can hardly sleep.” Seriously. The only explanation is some sort of unbeknownst-to-me lobotomy. I’m the girl who loves to use iron-on hem tape to make curtains and crib skirts (here, here, and here). I’m the girl who whined for about 2,000 words about just how cursed I am when it comes to sewing (here). Can I really be the girl who can’t sleep because of a quilt? Insanity.
But I am. Here’s what I’ve been up to. And it is by no means the right way to do this. I went rogue for sure. I don’t know proper form or correct terms and didn’t even take a class or read a book about quilting. I just took it one this-might-work step at a time and held my breath a lot. So to all of you fancy quilting experts, please don’t snort too loudly with laughter when you see how it all went down for me. I just made it with love. And a bit of wonkyness for good measure. You know, just so it’s obvious that it wasn’t made in a factory. Haha. It’s perfectly imperfect and then some. But I love it so much I can’t sleep. Total shocker. Anyway, on to the crazy feel-my-way-along-as-I-go process. It all started when I came across this gorgeous quilt and was immediately inspired.
I’ve always wanted to use all of the mixed and matched fabrics from Clara’s weekly photo project to create some sort of crazy birthday quilt…
… but I knew it had to be pretty darn simple for me to even have a prayer of pulling off my own wonky version of it. But the un-lined-up corners and white stripes interspersed with different textures and prints had me at hello. This I could do. Maybe. And if not it might not kill me to try, just to learn that it’s not quite within my skill level yet. So I trecked out to JoAnn Fabric and used one of those 50% coupons I always get in the mail to get two yards of white quilt-ish fabric for just $8 (the kind with a quilted cotton front and some thin batting already sewn into it on the back). I figured it would work as the white striped fabric between each strip of textured and printed fabric from Clara’s weekly shots and also as the backing for the entire quilt.
Then I washed all of the weekly fabric along with the new white quilted fabric so it was all nice and soft (and pre-shrunk). Then I had to iron a bunch of it because it was all ganked up from the washing process. Boo. That took a while but you know I did it in front of the TV at night after putting Clara to bed, right? Then I parked my butt on the sectional and cut out three inch by twelve inch strips of each of Clara’s weekly backdrops (except for some which weren’t fabric at all like the yellow rug, the shower curtain, the moving box, and a few other non-fabric items we tossed in there). When it came to the three inch width, I wasn’t exact with that since I liked the not-all-the-same-or-lined-up-look of my inspiration quilt from Pinterest). And I left out some of the crazier fabrics that I knew wouldn’t work that well so I was left with 27 different strips of around 3″ x 12″ fabric (I ditched things like the crunchy gold New Years fabric since I knew it wouldn’t be soft and cuddly like the rest of the blanket). And nobody loves a scratchy blanket. Especially the bean.
Then I cut out 30 three-inch-wide-by-12-inch-long strips of my white fabric. Those 30 strips left me with about two thirds of my yardage of white fabric to use for the backing, which was a pretty happy accident. Then I kept my arse firmly planted on the sofa and just started pinning away (one white strip got pinned to one printed strip, which got pinned to another white strip, and so on – for a striped look).
Nineteen strips made up each row (nine patterned ones alternated between 10 white ones)…
… which I would then sew together (using straight invisible seams from the back of the fabric, which I learned are the easiest kind from making my Sue pillows).
After creating three super long strips that were each about a foot wide and three feet long, I then laid all three of those super long rows next to each other to create this three foot by three foot square that looked pretty reminiscent of my inspiration quilt. I was shocked. It was kind of coming together. This is when I started entertaining the idea that my brain had been switched with a stranger’s.
Note: I originally considered straggering the printed strips like some of the rows on the inspiration quilt (theirs line up sometimes and don’t other times) but I laid it out on the floor the staggered way first and it looked too busy for my liking since my stripes were thicker and most of them had large-scale patterns so it looked kinda cluttered. I then laid them out in the above long stripes (instead of staggering them) and liked the clean and simple look a lot better. So that’s how the front pattern came to be.
This is the point at which I stood and stared at that giant not-perfect-but-pretty-great striped patchwork-ish square of baby blanket happiness for about an hour. I was in total shock that I hadn’t sew-cried or screamed into a pillow yet. Next it was time to iron down all of my seams on the back since I’ve heard that after stitching fabrics together a huge part of making non-bunchy quilts is to iron the back seams so they lay flat (because once those back seams are covered with quilt backing, it’s not exactly easy to iron them flat).
Then after each row was ironed so the back seams laid flat, I pinned one row to another row (with the ugly side out, so once it was stitched the seam would be invisible from the front)…
… and after a quick pass through Oh Brother (my trusty sewing machine) I was left with this:
And may I just say that my sewing machine is so great (it’s a Brother XL2600I that I found on Amazon for $89 with great reviews that I affectionately call Oh Brother). It was all totally user error that was tripping me up in the beginning and I would definitely recommend it. So far at least. It might revolt on me next week. You never know…
Then I repeated that process and added another row (which I again pinned from the back and stitched so the seam was invisible from the front).
That big smile above is what proud looks like. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t a) sewn my finger, b) created a giant nest of string like I did during my first sewing attempt, and c) thrown a maimed quilt on the floor and stormed out of the room. Holy bananas. My plan was actually working. And I wasn’t even cursing.
Here’s the back-view (also note that Burger is kindly showing you a chihuahua back-view):
After I ironed those new back seams that I had just created by joining those three long rows, I took the backing and the front of my quilt and faced the good sides towards each other on top of each other (so it was like a sandwich with the good stuff in the middle). Then I pinned around three of the four edges and I used my sewing machine to stich around them while keeping it all inside out like this. Yup, I basically made a giant pillow sham just like I did here with my Sue pillows. I even stitched a bit of the fourth side closed on each end (leaving just the middle portion open so I could flip things right-side out again.
Then I flipped it right-side-out and hand stitched the unsewn middle of the last edge closed (with my butt parked on the sofa in front of the TV of course):
It was definitely starting to look quilt-like, but it was sort of like a pillowcase that had been stitched closed with nothing in it. If you pulled on the backing with one hand and the quilted front with another hand, you could balloon the whole thing out since nothing was holding them together except for the stitching around the edges. So here’s where I actually started to feel like I was quilting. I also started to sweat profusely because I was about to dive into seams that show on both sides of the quilt. No more hidden seams done from the inside. I actually had to stitch down from the top of each white row of strips to the bottom, and the little white seam would definitely be exposed, so any ganked up thread or knotted nests of string would ruin the whole effect in a hot minute. And I would probably have had a full blown meltdown after all that work if things suddenly went south. So I gritted my teeth, held my breath, crossed my fingers, decided I needed them and uncrossed them, and tried to take it slow and steady.
Lo and behold, I was left with this.
And I was also left wondering who the heck took over my body and made a friggin quilt. Insane. It’s definitely not perfect, but a week ago I would have bet you a million dollars that I couldn’t ever sew two strips of fabric together, much less make a quilt (albeit an imperfect one). And I actually love it in all of its not-quite-perfect glory. Hopefully that will remind Clara that it was one of my first attempts at sewing, which she brought out in me (because before she was born you couldn’t pay me to use a sewing machine- let alone convince me to buy one and attempt a friggin quilt, but for some reason she made me want to make her something meaningful with all of her weekly fabrics). In case I’m not hitting this hard enough, I am shocked that I actually made a quilt. Seriously, almost speechless.
Oh and in the spirit of Burger sharing his hindquarters above, here’s the finished back-view:
Now I get to give it to Beaner for her b-day and I hope that she’ll always have it and know that her entirely undomestic mom (you think I’m kidding, but John does the cooking and the laundry around here) was possessed by some other-worldy being and whipped up a quilt to commemorate her big one year birthday. I’m not gonna lie, there were some victory laps around the house. And yes, John sang the rocky song while I ran around waving my quilt in the air.
In summation: Word to Oh Brother (yes, I just hit you with a word to your mother slash Brother sewing machine joke). Booyah.
Psst- My jazz hands even excitedly created a new category called “Sew Excited” a la Jesse Spano (get that reference here). So you can see the whopping three posts in there by clicking the Topics tab up near our search bar and scrolling down to find it.
Psssssst- We went Nursery Crashing over on BabyCenter this morning. Get in on the fun here.
Shreya says
That’s so beautiful. I’m certain Clara will treasure it for years to come!
From London says
Clever girl……love it. Such an adorable present. After reading your birth story I was in tears thinking you were so lucky to have her….but today I’m thinking Clara is a very lucky girl….so lucky to have such loving parents.
El says
Fantastic! Finishing that first quilt is a high like nothing else in the world, gal. Enjoy it, gloat about, and be so proud of yourself! Wait until a few quilty folks check in and tell you that you actually did some parts of it “the hard way”. :) Then you’ll REALLY feel like a superstar!
It’s worth taking another 50% coupon to the store and picking up some printable iron-on fabric, so that you can design a label and stick it on there someplace (or make your own, handwritten on some fabric and attached with your poor sad, abandonded hem tape). That way nobody will ever wonder who made that piece of textile love, or why.
It’s sew great!! (hehehehe)
Amanda Wells says
You are brave, woman!
http://www.amandadovewells.com/?page_id=45
kyla says
You are an inspiration to all the iron-on-seem-users-but-wanna-be-sewing-machine-users of the world!!! Cheer, Cheer!
Mary says
I can sew, but I have never made a quilt because I don’t think I’d have the patience. But this, this I could do! Thanks for sharing!
Laurie says
Congratulations! The great thing about quilts is that the quirky ones are the best and your’s is totally special because you’ve been collecting fabrics that you love…for me that’s the key, I have to love at least one of the fabrics but most of the time I stubbornly hold out til I love all of them…have fun with your new hobby! Baby clothes are super easy and fun to make too!
Margot says
Okay, although I read your blog daily I never comment, but now I just have to. I wanted to comment on your previous post about the sewing failure, because I could have written that post too. I have so many sewing ideas but when I sit in front of the darn thing it always turns out so different than what I had in mind! A.k.a. it just doesn’t turn out at all ;) So I was totally happy that I was not alone in this crazy sewing world, and now I read this post! Hello! What am I going to do now? Sit down and make a quilt? Do you think it always works this way: first one big mess, then one big finished quilt??? Please help me! ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I think I was just having so many technical difficulties in the beginning because of that tension issue and the wrong bobbin usage. Once I got that settled I took on a super easy project (a confidence builder, if you will) which were those pillows. They were three straight sewn lines and a little by-hand stuff and I was done. Then I think that convinced me that my machine was now working and I understood it better and I could tackle something else. I kind of went into it with a maybe-this-could-work-and-if-not-I-tried attitude. Which might have been the sweet spot. That way if I failed it wouldn’t be the end of the world but I had enough confidence from the easy pillows to press on. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Veronika says
It’s beautiful!! I had the feeling you would make something like this when I saw your pinterest pin! Love it! You’re a great mummy! Clara will sure feel special about that quilt.
Susan @ Retro Restyling says
Awwww, how absolutely sweet is that quilt! I love non-perfect homemade items and you really nailed this one! Congrats on an awesome job!!
heather says
*round of applause*
Ala the Rocky movies, I can imagine you motivating yourself by talking smack to your Oh Brother with the following quote.
“…You ain’t no better than me. You think you’re a big shot? You ain’t nothin! You ain’t no better than me! NO better!”
Ok. Maybe it’s a totally different context than the movie but I maintain it works. You showed that Oh Brother (and yourself) what’s up. You have the sew bone, S. The world is yours.
Lisa says
It looks beautiful Sherry! Do you plan to continue a weekly or monthly photo through Clara’s 2nd year? She’s too cute to not continue…
YoungHouseLove says
We’re going to do monthly ones since we can’t just stop cold turkey!
xo,
s
Reenie says
Woot Woot!!! You go girl!! That is soooo cute. I’m sure the Bean will cherish it forever <3
Pam the Goatherd says
Congratulations! I knew you could do it!!!
shunta says
that looks sewwwww good!!! Had I posted earlier, I would’ve been the first to make this joke which will probably appear in all comments!! LOL! Problem with reading at work. I have to read/work at the same time which delays my commenting! Great job! Love it and I bet one day Clara will give it to her little girl which is all the more precious!
Caroline says
Fantastic. i love it.
And trying this is really brave of you.
A easy advice for your next sewing. Put your pins perpendicular to you sewing line; Like that you provide your machine needle from breaking on a pin and are easy to take off after;
I’m not sure to be clear …
—–/—–/—–/
Caroline
YoungHouseLove says
Makes sense! I made sure to place them head-side-down so I could pull them out as I went, but perpendicular might be even easier!
xo,
s
laura says
awesome job sherry! that is something i would like to attempt too but im scared!
candace @ thecandace.com says
A job well done, Sherry! I love the idea of a quilt – there is something so special about a handmade blanket. It’s nice to snuggle up with something that has meaning. Clara will love it!
Krysta @ Domestic for Dummies says
Wow!! I am so proud of you and Clara will be too! What a good mommy. Are you going to take her last weekly picture on the quilt?
P.S. I can’t believe this will be her last weekly picture:( I have followed her since she was just a week old nugget. You should keep it going until she’s 18. Just sayin’.
YoungHouseLove says
We’re going to take her last weekly pic on the fabric that we designed and had printed with her name all over it. Should be fun! Although someone recommended taking her pic on the patio too. Haha. Maybe we need three pics, one on the patio, one on the quilt, and one on her special Clara fabric.
Oh and as for continuing her pics, we’re still going to do them monthly after she becomes a year old because we just can’t stop! Haha.
xo,
s
Marie-Ange says
Woa! Way to go Sherry!!!
Riane says
Absolutely amazing! You give me inspiration to suck it up and attempt to use the scary beast that is the sewing machine. It’s precious and Clara will adore it.
Amy says
You did an awesome job! I got a sewing machine last year for Mother’s Day, and I have been slowly trying different projects. I thin a quilt will be the next project I tackle. Thanks for the inspiration!
P.S.- I’ve learned that a seam ripper is a MUST HAVE tool when sewing. If you make a bad stitch, just rip that puppy out!
Jenny says
Another cool idea to use the fabric is to make Clara fabric flowers http://www.flickr.com/photos/19354093@N05/2327352368/
She’ll be able to save them and wear them as a special keepsake even through her adult years. Hey, maybe she’ll even take a photo of herself every week through the teen years wearing her fabric flowers! Or pin them on her daughter’s photos – that would be cool.
YoungHouseLove says
Cute!
xo,
s
sophie says
One of the most wonderful things we got when my second son was born was a quilt. but not just any quilt. peanut number 2 spent 3 weeks in the NICU after his early arrival at 32.5 weeks. The NICU gave all the babies there quilts – quilts generously and lovingly crafted by women of local quilting guilds just to give to new babies and new parents going through so very much in their young little lives. For some parents, the quilt would be one of the few memories of a life cut too short. For us, it is a memory of an intense time in our now six year old’s life. And a constant reminder of the generosity of women who got together weekly to create warmth for families they’d never know.
I wrote my quiltmaker a letter (her name was on the back of the quilt). that letter was read alout at the quilting meeting and she wrote me back. I wish that I still had that letter, but in the craziness that was the first year of my son’s life, it got misplaced.
Quilts are stories of life, of love, of dreams, of hopes. They are autobiographies in fabric.
Congratulations – it’s gorgeous.
YoungHouseLove says
Wow that’s so sweet!
xo,
s
Allison says
It looks fantastic! Way to go! I’ve been looking for a replacement sewing machine since my mom’s hand-me-down Montgomery Ward bit the dust. So, I was super excited when you found Oh Brother that I got one just like it! That’s not too stalkerish is it? Hee Hee! Love you guys!
Mary @ Redo 101 says
Go on with your self!!! Girl, you did it this time – it rocks!!! What a treasure for the Bean, “yeah, my mom made this for me for my first birthday.” Wow!!! Trust me, you did a great job – I’ve made a couple quilts and it is a pain in the rear getting the lines, lined up. But I have quilts my husband’s granny made waaaay back in the day, and they must be “crazy quilts” cuz the lines just go everywhere. So, I decree: lines on quilts can go anywhere the quilter wants them to go. Rock on, Sherry!!! Er, Sew On?!?!
Sandy says
Go Sherry! Go Sherry! We knew you could it! Go Sherry! High Five!! Looks awesome.
Sophie says
Wow, Sherry, I can’t quite believe it! Us sewing-phobic ladies have lost a member of our club I guess.
I’m so happy for you that it turned out this good – it’s absolutely GORGEOUS.
I’m sure your little lady will love it! :D
Lindaroo says
What a treasure, for you and for Clara! Well done!
Becky S. says
Wow!!! That looks incredible! You did a fantastic job! As corny as this sounds you, as always, are an inspiration to me to push myself to try new things and not give up when they don’t go exactly my way the first try.
Clara is a very lucky little girl to have such a good mommy!!
Frances says
Congrats Sherry!
My mum made me a quilt when I was born which I slept under all my childhood. Something about sleeping under a quilt makes you feel really loved!
And Beware of the Dark Side. The pins and fabric have an incredible knack of getting out of hand Really Quickly!
Cait says
Yay for you! As a sewer myself, I am always excited when someone discovers how easy and rewarding it can be to create something homemade. What a very special gift for Clara! You could make a little patch for the back with a birthday message for her and hand stitch it on- (you could even make it on the computer and print it on one of those iron on pages) Just an idea. It looks great!
Amy says
It’s beautiful! I love to sew too and don’t do it nearly enough. But every time I sit down at my machine to whip something up, I wish I could do it all the time. My last project was a pair of curtains using the $25/yard fabric I bought from Pottery Barn for our great room. They only required a straight stitch but I was so nervous doing them that I took a day off of work so I could have the house to myself to get it done. 8 hours later, they were hanging in all their glory and it is awesome to see them every day knowing I made them. Congrats on your first quilt!
[email protected] says
Great work, Sherry! I love your new quilt. The colors are so fresh and happy, a perfect gift for Clara and it’s made with love! Clara will be so proud of you!
Jessie
Jody says
What a great idea for a quilt. I fell in love seeing that inspiration photo and you did a fabulous job creating a special one for Clara. You are giving me hope that one day I will also being able to sew real things! I tried once with the exact same frustrations you had at the beginning.
Mandy Lynn says
Freaking amazing!!!!! You are so awesome, girly! So proud of you! :)
Lara says
Awesome job, Sherry! You DID IT! Clara will love it so much!
I recently made my first thing sewing (a skirt for my daughter), & I acted the same way as you–I kept going back to look at my creation–& for weeks, I showed it to everyone who came to my house. It’s such a feeling of accomplishment!
You might be surprised at what other domestic skills motherhood will bring out in you. I learned to cook after having kids…
Maria says
Awwww, that’s so sweet! She can use it for her babies someday! How cute would that be?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man that would be so cute! I wonder how beat up it’ll get by then. But that’s kind of cute to think about too.
xo,
s
Katie says
Absolutely beautiful! I have no doubt that Clara will treasure it forever. And someday down the line, Clara will definitely appreciate that you guys had things so together after she was born that you managed to take a photo of her every week from birth with a different amazing fabric. I have no idea how you do it!!
Bethany says
Lol-ing picturing the rocky song celebration!!!
Claire says
Now this makes me want to get out my sewing machine and make a quilt! I bet you’ll be inspiring many-a-DIY-er. Nice work! It’s so fun and meaningful.
nancie says
oh it’s adorable….you did a GREAT job!!
i’m skeeeeered of sewing too….i did give it a shot many MANY years ago – my mom was/is soooo good at sewing and i would get way too frustrated at not being able to do it (like her)…and completely give up. its just not fun for me..yet! hopefully one day i’ll get brave like you!!
your bean will LOVE it!!! happy birthday to her!!
Kara says
It’s gorgeous! You did a great job. This looks like a great project for learning to use a sewing machine, and being able to sew exactly what you want for your home gets reallly addictive.
I want to follow you on Pinterest but I can’t find you!
YoungHouseLove says
I think if you go to pinterest.com/younghouselove I’m there!
xo,
s
tiffany says
in a million years i couldn’t pull that off, looks awesome!
YoungHouseLove says
Be careful! That’s what I said a week ago!
xo,
s
Rosalyn says
You made a quilt!!! You did it!!! That is amazing… I knew you can do it! Experienced as I am, I have never made a quilt (too nervous on screwing it up)!
Quilts are a lifetime keepsake. My gram made me one when I was born, thirty six years later, I still have it and it’s been patched and fixed a few times. I wouldn’t rid of it if someone offered me a million dollars. I am sure Clara will cherish it forever!
David says
Great work Sherry, it looks professional!!
Kelsey says
First of all…. the quilt is fantastic!!!
Secondly… something funny I wanted to share.
I was telling one of my preggo friends about your weekly photo project and then was telling her you were saving the fabric.
She said… “Oh,is she making a quilt?”
At that time I didn’t know what you were doing with the fabric and I said “I don’t think so, I think she is only making a banner”. To tell you the truth, I was a little dissapointed!
Then this morning I see that YOU DID IT!!!!
I immediately texted her and said “She made a quilt with the weekly photo fabrics! Yes!”.
Oh, and yesterday,she texted me and said “OMG, Thanks so much for showing me the YoungHouseLove Blog. It is so entertaining!”
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s too funny! I always wanted to make a quilt I was just nervous. So the banner came first. To get me bearings. Haha. Except that was waaay harder than the quilt, ironically!
xo,
s
Megan @ reFind says
Freakin awesome!!! I am so proud of you (does that sound weird since we don’t really know each other?) I recently took up sewing – and even started my own etsy shop with pillows: http://www.etsy.com/shop/99Twelve … but even I am not brave enough to tackle a quilt…well maybe I am now :)
Dusa says
I made a quilted headboard (http://cattyscorner.blogspot.com/2010/05/finished-home-projects-really.html) based on this tutorial (http://sugarnspicecreations.blogspot.com/2009/09/scatter-sunshine-scrappy-quilt-tutorial.html).
Great minds think alike! Congratulations-it looks faboo!
YoungHouseLove says
So sweet!
xo,
s
Adriane (aka The Greenhorn) says
This.is.AMAZING. I might lay in bed tonight thinking about this serious victory. I had more of a %#@! fabric moment in finishing my thrift-store furniture project and it didn’t even involve sewing, lol. I’m posting the big reveal tomorrow and plan to make pillow covers with the extra fabric. I’m using your win as motivation! :)