Friday, October 28, 2011

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Throw Back Edition

So I had intentions to make a new quilt to show for Blogger's Quilt Festival when it was first mentioned a couple of months ago.  But that just did not happen.  However, I am okay with that.  I have been busy with our new little bundle of joy (see here) and I already had a lot of previous commitments that I had to make some "escape to the sewing room" time for as it was.



So, I decided instead of sharing something new, I would share something old and it's little story.  Something from before I had a quilting blog that none of you have probably ever seen.  And more importantly, something that shows a technique from me that will probably never be seen again.  Hand Stitching!!!

I made this quilt in 2008 for my sweet Sister-In-Law upon the arrival of their first baby girl.  I absolutely love the pink and brown color scheme so I gathered up some of my scraps and set out to do something new.  See, at this time I was still fairly new to the quilting world and had stuck to just following patterns.  I had seen so many adorable baby stitches (mostly from my other SIL who stitches like crazy) and thought it would be fun to incorporate some into a quilt, but I couldn't find a pattern that had baby stitches in the quilt that I liked.  So at that point, I realized if I wanted it, I would have to make it up myself.  So I did.   I pulled out my trusty excel skills that I hadn't used since becoming a mommy and went to work trying my hand at designing for the first time.  This is what I came up with :)


Now this was my first attempt at designing so I stuck to squares and rectangles.  Nothing to fancy. (and it probably was good I did as I made a few errors in my math along the way and had to adjust later on :)  This was also one of mt first attempts at quilting.  My machine at this time, did not have free motion capabilities, so I opted for stitch in the ditch.  I learned a lot, especially a lot of what not to do's :)  But all in all I had a lot of fun with designing, piecing, and quilting this quilt and learned a lot along the way.

The quilt was fun, the stitching however, not so much fun.  I know many people love stitching and find it relaxing, I on the other hand found it slow and frustrating.  Hence, I don't think I have done much hand stitching since this quilt, and don't have plans to do a lot in the future :)    But I have to admit, even though I didn't like it, I really like the way the stitches turned out.  (So maybe some day I will suck it up and do it again :)






And here it is hanging above my nieces crib.  Her Mother loved it which made me love it all the more.


My favorite thing about a post like this . . .  To see how much I have learned since I made this quilt, how much better my skills are, and to imagine how far they will go in the future :)  It is a great thing!!
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21 comments:

  1. Hi Melissa. :o)
    Aww..your quilt is just so sweet!
    What a cherished keepsake!
    Have a nice day. :o)
    Sincerely, Trish

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  2. That is the sweetest little baby quilt!

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  3. That is such a cute baby quilt! Love the stitching! :)

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  4. So sweet. I have not tried hand stitching yet. Maybe in the future.

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  5. Very cute quilt! The stitching is lovely!

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  6. That is SO cute. I am wanting to try some hand stitching myself, just some more motivation to do so.

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  7. That quilt is still in that same place over the same crib (that is now a toddler bed). I still love it as much as the day we got it. :)

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  8. Very sweet post and a darling little quilt!

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  9. Thanks for sharing your quilt full o'love! :)

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  10. Oh Melissa, your quilt & post has me beaming with delight. Love it. What a heartwarming quilt. so very beautiful. Perfect for a little princess.

    SewCalGal
    www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

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  11. Dsrling baby quilt. Those sayings stitcheries are precious. Thanks for sharing and have a great day

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  12. So sweet! It looks gorgeous hanging above her cot :)

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  13. Quite well done for a first quilt and so cute and sweet for your niece. Thank you for sharing.

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  14. So cute! I admire the hand sewing...I don't seem to have the patience for that. But one day I hopefully will produce something with some hand stitching...it's on the bucket list =)

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  15. Your quilt is adorable. What a lovely gift!

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  16. Wonderful quilt and post...this has been so fun. I love showing my quilt,and then hopping around to see all the others!

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  17. What a sweet quilt. Love the stitchery! You are one quilt up on me as far as embroidery stitching goes. Love it in quilts, just haven't had the nerve to try it yet. :) Thanks for sharing.

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  18. ohh, what a wonderful, sweet quilt...and so nice stitchery (but my english is not so
    good;-))

    Greetings from Klaudia
    (Germany)

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  19. I love to see hand stitching...such a wonderful quilt. Thanks for sharing.

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Thank you so much for your sweet comments. I just love hearing from you!!
Have a Happy Quilting Day :)

Melissa