New-found Hobby

This summer I took up a new hobby:  QUILTING!!!!  I'm not really sure how it started.  I think it began awhile ago and slowly gained momentum as I was thinking about the sewing machine, a gift from my Mom, sitting in a closet unused, and thinking about ways to consume less and conserve more, and ways to save money, and ways to make nice gifts for people, and ways to create family heirlooms, and that's kinda how my thoughts led me to quilting.

And so, many an hour I've spent in local quit shops, fondling fabrics and chatting with patrons and employees about projects, techniques, materials, and supplies.  Many a math mistake I've made and discovered after returning home with the wrong amount of fabric.  Oh well, I'll just add that to my growing stash.  It's been fun!  And it's given me something productive to do with my hands in the evenings while watching TV and relaxing my brain.  Using the internet as a resource for learning pretty much anything, I have built upon faint memories of sewing and making quilts with my Mom and sisters.  It's weird the kinds of things I remember about sewing as a child, and recognizing that now I have the dexterity of an adult, I don't have to cry when it's time to thread the bobbin.  I guess it's not always true that kids learn things easier and quicker than adults do.

For my first quilting project, I used the general design concept from this free pattern at Connecting Threads.  I used fabric from a remnant and three different fat quarter bundles from Hobby Lobby.  I had so much fun measuring and cutting and piecing that I was afraid I wouldn't like the quilting part.  But I was wrong!  I found The Free Motion Quilting Project, which is just a wonderful resource, and gave me the courage to buy a darning foot and give it a try.  I discovered that quilting turned out to be just as fun as the piecing was.  Now, I wonder how much I'll enjoy binding.  I guess I'll just have to cross that bridge.

Blu-ray is helping to reduce the flatness of the pieced quilt top.

Darning foot!  ebay purchase, shipped right to my mailbox and easily installed.

First free motion quilting experiment.  Looks pretty good!

Zoomed in to see stitching details and found cat hair.

It's rough and not very consistent, but I'm pleased with the progress I've made this summer.