QFH: Finally finished, and moving on.

Well, the Quilt From Hell is finally finished, without any help from this guy:



As much as I'm still in love with the color and texture combination, I'm now fully aware that I should have combined them in, say, a collection of throw pillows, rather than trying to create a cohesive unit out of four totally incompatible fabrics. Originally I was just planning on creating a pocket and turning it inside out, then doing simple line quilting over the top, but no. Boyfriend insisted it was too light, just as I was about to finish the last side. So, because I'm so over this thing, and really just wanted to get it done, I pieced together two lightweight fleece blankets and tacked them to the inside.

Then I finished sewing around the edges, flipped it right side out, and quilted straight lines down the middle of the squares. Only one direction, however, because despite being as careful as possible with this clunky, awkward thing, certain fabrics stretched more than others, and I was left with a bubble in the middle. Awesome. Needless to say, no pictures, and it's a great blanket to throw on the floor for baby. Enrich her mind, and crap like that.

Eventually, somewhere down the road I'll tear it apart and quilt it properly, but only after I've beefed up my skill set. You know, using quilting weight fabrics only for a while. Maybe trying a smaller size as well. I'm apparently not a big fan of baby steps.

As I mentioned, my best best friend is pregnant, and I'd LOVE to do a quilt for her baby. She's using my favorite Mendocino line as inspiration for the baby's room, after some not so subtle hints from me. I decided it was too romantic for me, but it works perfectly for her. So maybe I'll finally use that in a baby quilt for her. Precut, yes :)


Alexander Henry Zoo Primary


Tanya Whelan Dolce Grey
*actually, this is where I want to go with our bedroom color scheme.


Joel Dewberry Meadow, Lake
*mm, scratch that, maybe this. Hah, all over the place, much?


Tanya Whelan, Dolce Pink
*perfect for Delaney's room!

Then of course, you have Moda to make things even easier. The strip width makes me a little nervous, with 2.5" ea, and a 1/4" seam allowance, it doesn't leave much room for error. But this one is sooo pretty. And on sale!



I think someone told me ebay is a good place to find pre-cut fabric, squares even! But I don't see anything that strikes my fancy. I want to make inspired beautiful quilts like Christina and use gorgeous fabrics like Jeni. The Joann's and Hancock's around here are just not doing it for me. What's your favorite fabric source?

HELP! Quilting Predicament

So, I'm about 1/4 done piecing my first quilt, and honestly, it's not THAT well done. Oops. Apparently, I really like cutting fabric and putting it together, but I'm not the best at, you know, exact measurements.

So, currently, this is what it looks like.



Yes, this is my first quilt (Since I was 10), and yes, it's the one with 4 different fabrics, the faux suede upholstery fabric, the purple satin type, the Joel Dewberry cotton, and a stretchy thin jersey. I'm ambitious, and I like texture. Sue me. (The picture is from when I pinned it up against the Delaney's color samples 3-4 weeks ago. We chose purple. It's still hanging there.)

So, the other night, I made a 7" square out of cardboard, and cut out all the remaining squares I needed, of everything but the stretchy jersey (the white background with flowers). I stopped there, thinking I should put interfacing on the back of it, but then do I iron on the interfacing first, and then cut the squares? Or, cut, then interface. I also have spray starch, that would probably help.

The next thing is, if I'm going thru all this trouble to be super exact (as I should be, I know, quilting is an exact science normally, please, hardcore quilters, don't hunt me down), should I tear apart the current quilt, and start again? I know I'll have to buy more of the blue Joel Dewberry.... But then again, at the current size, I could just fold it on itself, and perfect little baby quilt. But then what about all those 7" squares I've cut out already in the other fabric? I could just save them, and use them elsewhere, but I should be smart enough not to use faux suede microfiber upholstery fabric in a quilt again, right?

Woe is me. I hate being unfinished on this thing, and so distract myself with other projects, like the sweater baby blanket (which is now pieced together, I need to put thin batting in, cut the backing in the crazy neon pink stripey FreeCycle fabric, and bind, a whole 'nother obstacle for inexperienced me). I threw out the baby quilt idea to Trevor, and he was somewhat butthurt I wasn't going to finish it big person size. He likes to cuddle :)

I'm tempted just to cut the jersey flowery one as is, piece it together, use the current haphazard piece, and tie it, instead of actual quilting. It'll still be just as cosy, Delaney will love the texture once she's around, and it can become our picnic/4th of July blanket, and we can laugh at it every time it's shown in public.

Thoughts? How can I salvage this? CAN I salvage this?