Yup, I just paraphrased Sir Mix-A-Lot in my blog title. That's the sort of classy content you've come to expect from my blog. But it's true, I've knit a lot of hats and mitts and an occasional sock in my time, but those projects don't really interest me. I like something more involved like a sweater or a shawl. Those projects, like a good novel, take so much time and thought that they start to become intertwined with my memories. Stephen King's The Stand will be forever mixed into my memory of the summer my best friend went away to camp while I stayed behind, so too, do my biggest projects feel like a milepost.
I've had my sewing machine since April -- less than 5 months -- and even taking time off to travel for work, and complete some deadline knitting, I've made around 30 sewn projects since then. Finishing a project in a day has some real charm, especially when I love wearing what I've sewn, but I've been craving something more involved and I like nothing if not a chance to dive into the deep end of the pool towards an inevitable belly flop.
Enter my first(ish*) ever quilt.
This particular quilt pattern is called a Disappearing Nine Patch and I learned about it from this YouTube video.
Despite being a ridiculously basic quilt pattern, you can see that my seams are all misaligned.
And let's not even get started on my attempt at mitered corners, or how 1/3rd of the blocks are oriented in the wrong direction. It's all such a mess that I ended up opting to finish the quilt with ties instead of machine quilting.
But, you know what? I don't care, I loved making the quilt, I loved the colors in the fabric and devoting several days to the project. (I got the fabric here after Wendy tweeted about the shop.
The end result is laughable in a lot of ways but I'm so excited to start my next one with the hopes of someday building up the skills to make something beautiful to use on our bed (where it will be promptly destroyed by the three dogs who have free rein of the household.)
If I had one suggestion for a new quilter, it would be to use fabric you love looking at. Making a quilt isn't inexpensive, and your first attempt is likely to have some mistakes but if you just adore the fabric, you will still have something you love, every step of the way.
Also, try to ignore the peanut gallery
* Back in maybe 1998, I made a small quilt top, but whatever it was that I knew then, which wasn't much, has long been forgotten.