Smalls

Back in April, my in-laws came down to Charlotte for a visit.  One of the items they brought down as this beautiful old Singer sewing machine!  This machine belonged to Eric’s grandma who then passed it down to Eric’s mom who has now given it to me!  Before they brought it down they had the machine pretty much refurbished and it works wonderfully!  It’s built in to a nice wooden cabinet and fit perfectly in our office.  I took some sewing classes in middle school and high school and I have always had a desire to make a quilt one day.  My mother-in-law has been making quilts for years and has been a great inspiration to me.  Well, since I now had a sewing machine in my house I figured, why not make a quilt?  I had been trying to think of something that I could get my sister Katie for her wedding that would be something special that she could keep forever.  A quilt would be perfect!  So I embarked on my first quilting adventure.

The first step in the process for me was deciding on a pattern for the quilt.  Obviously I needed something easy since I had never done this before.  But I also wanted something that was meaningful.  My mother-in-law made me a quilt for my 23rd birthday and the two blocks in the quilt were “Irish Eyes” and “Bells of St. Mary’s.”  I’m Irish and I went to Saint Mary’s College, so the fact that she used those blocks makes the quilt even more special!  I saw some pictures of Irish Chain quilts online and I fell in love with the pattern.  I found a great tutorial online and it looked like a great pattern for a beginner and, since we’re Irish, I thought it would be perfect for Katie.

The next step was choosing the fabric.  I needed two fabrics, one light and one dark.  I had originally thought of getting something green for the dark fabric, but when I went to the store I could not find anything!  I never imagined that picking out fabric would be so overwhelming!  I got pretty discouraged after the first store I went to, but had better luck at my next stop.  I finally decided on a blue and red floral for the dark fabric and a cream damask for the light fabric.  Not what I had originally thought of getting, but both fabrics screamed “Katie” to me and I loved the combination!

I pre-washed the fabrics, pressed, cut and pieced it all together.  I learned a lot throughout the process and my mother-in-law was a HUGE help along the way.  I think every Saturday (my sewing day) she received about 20 calls from me asking questions or just seeking encouragement.  She has so much knowledge of quilting and it was such a blessing to have that knowledge just a phone call away!  Fast forward about 4 months…

The picture above is my quilt sandwich.  There are about 400 pins in that quilt and it took about 2 hours to do!  I’ve decided that basting is not my favorite part of the process.  Doesn’t it look pretty though?  Here is my binding all pieced, pressed and ready to go!

And here is the finished product!  I had quite the time quilting this thing.  The first try I had not basted it well enough and had to take out the 50 or so pins I had in place, re-press and then re-baste.  The second try my walking foot was not cooperating and it just looked terrible.  So I had to rip out the two lines that I had sewn, take out the 150 or so pins I had in place, re-press both quilt top and backing, re-baste with my new supply of about 400 pins and then try again.  Finally I was able to get some good results!

I think my favorite part of the quilt is the binding.  This was the easiest part for me to do!  Along the way I had made some practice squares and I bound each one so I could practice the binding – I wanted it to be really nice on Katie’s quilt.  I learned how to miter the corners and I think they turned out fantastic!  AND, with the help of my MIL I finally figured out how to make a nice stitch that is nearly invisible on the back!  I was SO excited about that!  For the quilting, I followed the lines of the nine-patch blocks and quilted a grid for most of the quilt (on the borders I stitched in the ditch).

And here I am with Katie and Dan the day after their wedding presenting them with their quilt.  I did label the quilt but unfortunately did not get a picture of it.  I named this quilt “The First” for two reasons: 1) it was going to Katie and Dan who were married on the first of August and 2) it was my first quilt.  I worked on it from April-July 2009 and finished it just in time for the wedding!