Bloggers Quilt Festival

I-Spy Quilt (Disappearing 9 Patch)

This is the first quilt I ever made.  Actually, it's one of the first things I ever made.  I started sewing not quite a year ago.  My son, Max has pretty short legs, so I bought a sewing machine so I could hem his ridiculously long pants.  So last year around Thanksgiving, I started on this journey.  You see, I really didn't even know how to sew.

By January I thought I was ready to try a quilt.  It actually came out quite well.  It's ironic that such an old fashioned art, like quilting and sewing, could be taught through modern methods.  I watched clip after clip on youtube and read blog after blog on tutorials.  One of my favorite teachers was Jenny at MISSOURI STAR QUILT COMPANY.  Another was Care at OBSESSIVELY STITCHING.  I learned how to thread the machine, sew and then quilt.  There is so much information out there that it made sewing...and making this quilt easy!

I didn't even know enough to buy actual quilting materials.  The quilt back and red sashing is an old red sheet.  The small blue setting squares and boarder are another old chambray sheet.  You can see from this picture that the "batting" I used is actually an old leopard print blanket.  The I-Spy squares mostly came from an I-Spy swap.  That's another great tradition that has gone modern through the internet!  You buy 10 I-Spy fabrics, mail 10 4" squares of each to your host and....Voila!  You have 100 different I-Spy squares to choose from!

I used a TUTORIAL from Care at Obsessively Stitching for a Disappearing 9 Patch Quilt: I-Spy Version.  I used ANOTHER TUTORIAL from Jenny at Missouri Star for the quilt as you go method.  The combination of both of these made my first quilt quick and easy.  Cutting out took a about an hour one day...the subsequent cutting, sewing and putting together took about another 5 hours on another day.  Instead of binding, I just folded the back over and sewed it on. 

I have many more plans for I-Spy quilts just like this one!  I have cut out another boy and 2 girl and versions and just need to put them together.  I'm not sure that using the quilt as you go method is actually easier.  I've made 4 other quilts and I'm still trying to decide.which way works best.  I will say that the disappearing 9 patch method does give you the most bang for your buck!

So here is the finished product and a sleeping kiddo.  I hope you enjoyed my journey from novice to quilter.

Cheers~

Marti

Bloggers Quilt Festival-Fall 2011

Flag Quilt

Max loves flags.  For as long as I remember, this has been a favorite item for Max.  When I bought my sewing machine in November 2010, I started sewing to fix Max's pants, so it came as a big surprise to me that in February I would be starting a flag quilt for my boy!

The inspiration for this quilt was, of course, Max!  The catalyst was a flag bandanna he received as a party favor at a Fourth of July party long past.

I started by making a red border out of a worn sheet around the bandanna.  I then added another in the red & white star fabric.   I had the red dot and white dot fabrics, but I was stumped!  This is the second quilt I ever started, but third I've finished.  My other projects had been based on step by step tutorials.  I made 4 inch squares of both the red with white dots and the white with red dots.  I kept thinking that the quilt needed something extra.  I tried several different blue and patriotic fabrics, but none looked right. 

Because Max has anxious to use it, I went ahead and finished with what I had.  I backed it in a bright red flannel and used cotton batting.

Max calls this his "Flanket" which I guess is a flag blanket. 

I tried my first ever applique on this project too...MAX!

I learned it's much easier to start with an end in mind, but I also learned that the journey of making the quilt...to see what it wanted to become...was also a rewarding experience.  The best is how much Max loves the flanket.  When I saw that Amy's Creative Side was hosting a Spring Blogger's Quilt Festival, I knew I needed to share this one! 

Click to see the other entries in the Bloggers Quilt Festival

Hope you enjoy!

Cheers~

Marti