My First Quilt: Things I've Learned

I finally completed the Christmas quilt for my daughter - on Valentine's Day! Fabric choices are detailed in this post. Finished size is 36" by 44". With the exception of hand-finishing the binding and labels, it was all sewn on my Janome DC3050 using both cotton and polyester threads.

Quilt front

As I pieced, sandwiched, ripped out, and quilted, I had a lot of time to think; I decided to list, in no particular order, a few things I learned in the making of this quilt.

I learned that not having a pattern is OK. I bought the Nature's Gift panel with no thought other than I loved it and wanted to use it to make a little Christmas quilt for my daughter. I used a combination of disappearing nine-patch and improvisational placement of fussy-cuts. I truly enjoyed designing as I went.

I learned not to be so hard on myself. This I learned this from other quilters, who are the kindest people in the world. They will compliment your strong points and call your mistakes "quirks".

I was obsessed with making my points perfect - always a nice goal, but I'm not entering my quilt in a contest. When I looked closely, I noticed that several of the quilts I admired on others' blogs were not perfect - imagine that! And my free motion quilting is obviously that of a beginner. This bothered me terribly at first, and I ripped out many swirls. I finally let it go, relaxed, and my quilting improved.

I learned to "Let the quilt tell you"- this is something I kept reading and hearing about when deciding on a pattern for completing the quilt, and I hope to cultivate this habit for future quilts. This time around, my quilting was chosen for its ease of execution, although I did try to enhance the blocks.

I learned the value of choosing the appropriate thread for quilting. I thought just any old thread would do and chose an off-white color to quilt. I learned quickly that off-white was way too pronounced on the red of the sashing; something more subtle would have looked much better. (And disguised my beginner quilting.)

I learned to relax and enjoy the solitude of quilting. Almost meditative, each phase of quilting was enjoyable for me, especially when I had the window open next to my sewing machine and could appreciate birds chirping, distant traffic sounds, and halcyon days with white puffy clouds and blue skies. The wine was helpful too!

I learned that sewing knowledge does not a quilter make. I've sewn since I was in 7th grade, and I assumed that quilting would be a snap for me. It wasn't. There were parts of making a quilt that came easier for me because I sew, but quilting is a complex art that will take just as much time as I devoted to perfecting my sewing skills.

I learned that even though I may not be a great at free motion quilting, I am good at piecing and binding. I love piecing; it gives me a chance to appreciate each block, cherish the fabric, and find joy in composition and symmetry.

Before I made and sewed the binding, I watched some tutorials on binding and finally followed Amanda Jean's clear and easy to follow instructions on crazy mom quilts. Once I started hand-stitching the binding on the back of the quilt, I fell into a rhythm and did my best work, using my skill at making the stitches invisible.

This gift box purchased at Joann fabric store is a perfect container for this Christmas quilt.

Choosing a name for the quilt was fun, and I finally decided on "Tweet Noel".

Christmas in January

My first nearly completed quilt is one I intended as a Christmas gift for my daughter. Life happened in December, and I was distracted from finishing. Now I am racing to get it quilted and bound before January ends. Not sure that is going to happen, but I am enjoying the race.

It all started with the purchase of a theme panel in Moda's Nature's Gift from my LQS. The panel features poinsettias, amarylis, and birds - perfect for my daughter who loves to include birdies in her decor.

One of the kind ladies at Quilt 'N Sew assisted me in choosing a backing that was not, in her words, "too matchy-matchy". I ended up not having enough and had to piece it with some light fabric I had in my stash. I actually like it pieced, because it gave me an opportunity to include a beautiful part of the panel.

I ordered a charm pack and coordinating fabric in Snowy White that will also be used for binding.

Instead of following a pattern, I decided to fussy cut the panel and piece it with the charm pack and fabric.

I ran into some problems sandwiching it and had to seek advice on how to keep from getting wrinkles on the back. I have begun to quilt the sandwich, and in spite of taking two free motion quilting classes, my confidence level is low. I read somewhere that a glass of wine helps, so that is what I'm trying. I'll let you know how it goes.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays, Happy Holidays,
While the merry bells keep ringing,
May your every wish come true

Here is a montage of my life lately.

Quilting
I began a Christmas quilt for my daughter in November and got distracted from it for a few weeks. She knows she will get it early 2013, as I obviously did not finish in time for Christmas 2012. It is pieced and not yet sandwiched. It is the red and white quilt in the collage, and if you look closely you can spot Katy the kitten sitting on it. I designed the disappearing nine-patch variation using a quilt panel and charm pack in Nature's Gift by Deb Strain for Moda.

I also have a Christmas table runner that has been in the works since 2010, right after my Mom passed away. It was a project from my beginner quilting class featuring four blocks - nine patch, churn dash, Ohio star, and rail fence. It is finally sandwiched, but I still need to quilt and bind it. I used Fruitcake by Basic Grey for Moda for the blocks and for the backing.

After seeing my work, my husband asked me to start a quilt to hang in our entry! Yay!

Christmas baking
Danish Kringles are a baking tradition for me every Christmas, and this year I made them for my husband's office. The recipe is here on my old blog, For Goodness Sake.

It would not be Christmas without a batch of Granny Mitchell's sugar cookies. Sometimes plain with sugar sprinkled on top and sometimes iced, they are a tender, not-to-sweet version made with buttermilk and lots of vanilla and nutmeg.

I made a pecan pie to celebrate my daughter's boyfriend's birthday when they visited at Christmas. I use a different recipe almost every time I make pecan pie and love them all. This is the recipe I used this time:

Pecan Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie

1 9-inch unbaked pie crust (if you don't have a recipe, I highly recommend Betty Crocker's classic recipe, which I have used for 40 years!

Filling
1 cup Karo syrup (I used part Lyle's Golden Syrup)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons salted butter, melted
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon maple flavoring
1 cup toasted pecans

Mix filling ingredients by hand in large bowl and pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake 45-55 minutes, covering crust with strips of aluminum foil as necessary to prevent excessive browning. Pie is done when knife inserted into center comes out clean.

Christmas
We enjoyed the Christmas season with an Open House in early December and with our family during Christmas week. We got everything decorated for the Open House, which was "come and go or come and stay"; about 40 guests came and stayed, playing pool and eating. I served appetizers, one of which was applewood smoked ham on these pumpkin biscuits, and desserts. We enjoyed it so much we are already planning for next Christmas.

Our daughter and her boyfriend drove in from Dallas to stay a few days, and we attended Christmas Eve services at our church after a fun day of last minute shopping in some of Houston's finest weather - sunshine, low 70s, low humidity, no wind. Christmas Day was with the rest of the family - our son, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren - it could only have been better had we been in Hawaii.

Also in the photo montage are Buddy the dog and Katy the kitten - decked out for Christmas, the old blue Christmas bell from the 1960s that adorns our tree every year, and a beautiful December sunrise from Katy, Texas.

I hope your holidays have been happy, healthy, and full of hope.