I did it I really did it

I finished the baby quilt. It's actually bigger than a baby quilt. I got carried away.
I know most of you are thinking it’s about time. Sweet Abigail Victoria can finally enjoy her quilt. And she's not even a year old. It seems like forever since I have actually accomplished or completed a single project. I mean I hadn’t even created or completed a quilted mailable postcard in over a year. Well maybe I did make one for my boss in January for her birthday but that’s it.

The quilt journey began in February after I went

to the baby shower with a card, bottle of Pedialite and a promise of a quilt for Lisa and Kris’s pending bundle of joy. Whoa did I just tell someone I’d make a quilt? Yikes! What pattern, what fabric and how to quilt oh crap now I panic. Okay let’s see ahhh I decided to do a western theme. Lisa is into horses and even does competition reining. So now to find a pattern and fabric so I can get started. 

While visiting my mom in Conroe we went by Quilters Quarters Quilt shop for a look. Wait you want Me to go to a quilt shop and just look. Is that even legal?  I found all their western themed fabric but I still needed to figure out a pattern. Mmmm the decisions and that’s when I walked into their back room and there it was on the wall a pattern made for the shop using western fabrics. Now the pattern was for a bigger quilt but that’s okay I can modify. I bought most of my fabric @ Quilters Quarters but some came from my stash, Quilters Crossing and QuiltWorks. hint if you click on the store name it will take you to they're website.

So here’s the pattern for the full size quilt.  I used it for inspiration for my adaptation.

I was okay with all my fabric choices until little Miss Abigail was born. When I heard the name Abigail Victoria I took a look at the quilt top and thought mmm it’s not girly enough. Now what can I do??

Well of course I hit up all my very talented quilty friends. With their help I added a couple of boarders to help tone

down the less girly fabrics and the quilt got a tad bit bigger.  The name Abigail Victoria conjures up in my mind this prim proper Victorian lacy little girl. Would you look at those pretty blue eyes and sweet face…? and what a smile.

So now that Abigail is here I start to question my western theme. Will this work or not?

Of course it will, just look at this mom and daughter all comfy in the saddle.


I got the piecing done. Not bad if I say so myself. I might have taken a couple blocks apart and re-sewn them but that’s okay.  


Now that the piecing is done I hit my Next road block ….
What quilting motif do I use to make the quilt top a tad more feminine.
I always question my ability to quilt .  
What if I screw up and the quilting looks like a mess and that screws up the whole quilt!
I think at the time "Maybe I should just hire someone to quilt it."
Only then the quilt wouldn’t be from me because I’d have to share the credit with someone else and pay them. I'm selfish I want all the credit. LOL
I stalled and fretted over what to do. I'm such a goober.

Where’s my confidence? Obviously it's was hiding out in a closet somewhere or under a pile of fabric in my sewing room.

 
So here's where I put the back, batting and the quilt top together.
Quilt all laid out.
Ready for Press n Seal.

Yep I said Press n Seal.

A guest speaker at our guild meeting one night commented “Press n Seal is my best friend.”
Guess what I think it might be mine too. I’ve used the gold quilting paper to trace my quilting pattern on and then pin to my quilt. Only by the time I man handle the quilt on my sewing machine with only a 6 inch throat with all the twisting and turning the paper gets so torn up I have no idea where my next stitch should go. I’ve also used the chalk method where you put a quilt stencil down and pounce the powder over the stencil so that when you lift the stencil you have a design to follow but it becomes smudged or completely disappears.
Glad Press n Seal lays out nicely on your
fabric and STAYS.


So I start to trace my quilt pattern onto the press n seal. 
 



After about 30 days
of procrastinating I put on
my big girl panties and started quilting.

Here's an up close view of the floral motif I used. Can you see it?

Right off I screwed up the first 200+ stitches and had to remove them. Gee That was fun. NOT! 

Kim S. if you're reading this here's what it sorta looks like when you try to quilt a big quilt in a small space.  See how it's bunched up to the right?


I peeled some of the Press and Seal off a section I had finished and my quilting doesn’t look too bad. I figure It wasn't perfect but then neither am I. 

About 3 quarters of the way into quilting the damn thread starts breaking and bunching. Awww come on I want to finish and give Miss Abigail her quilt so she can start to enjoy. So I ripped out the quilting and re-stitched. I ended up ripping out over 20” of quilting on the border because my bobbin tension went goofy. GGGRRRRR Finally made it through the quilting stage.
Binding time but first I had to make my label so I could catch it in the binding. My label for the quilt states the quilt name "Welcome to Texas", who the quilt is for, the birth date, who pieced and quilted the quilt top with tender loving care, the completion date and what pattern I used.

I have family several quilts with no label so I don't know who made the quilt or why or for whom. Wish I did. Mom's gonna come down one day and see what info she can provide me so I can add a label one day.

Such is the life of a quilter or at least this quilter. You sew, you rip, you sew again. And again ................................. 


Put a fork in me it's done. The Quilt ended up being about 50x40.

I stopped at a house not far from our home and asked if I could take a picture on the fence of my finished quilt and the owner said sure anytime and anywhere. One little donkey got nosey but the rest ran. When I backed up to take the picture and looked in the view finder there were 4 ears popping up just over the quilt but before I could focus and snap they ran off.





The quilt may not be perfect but it was made with tender loving care.

And It was given from the heart.

David, Pamela (she was home for the weekend) and I drove out to deliver the quilt this past Saturday. Kris and Lisa seemed to be delighted. I hope Abigail gets lots of use out of it.

Now it’s on to quilts for the Quads. So many babies so many quilts so little time.

I better get busy…………..

Pamela was home for her friend Avery's baby shower and I did a small project for her.
She had gone to lunch with her Mimi at the Whistle Stop Tea Room

and walked across to Quilter's Crossing picked out the pattern and
fabric for a pair of baby booties. Look girls at Quilter's Crossing I actually
have a picture of a finished project from fabric bought at your shop. I did alter the pattern a little. I was suppose to make straps out of the fabric and use Velcro but I couldn't find my Velcro so I used ribbon and I think they look pretty cute. Pamela said Avery loved them so that's what counts.


One more thing… we have an addition to the family. David and I became grandparents…
LOL,

to Pamela’s new puppy. Her name is Sophie.

She’s a cutie but Dexter isn’t so sure.

He tolerated this little intrusion into his world.
Well 98% of the time.

The were both sporting their Aggie attire on game day.
WHOOP!

So until next Blog………
                       A child is a handful sometimes and a heart full at all times!