Back in November I bought a fat quarter pack of the new Amy Butler Lark fabric from Urban Arts and Crafts. I was so taken with all the lovely colors and patterns and the first thing that popped into my head was to make a quilt for my mom for Christmas. Fast forward to March, and I was actually able to get it finished just in time for her birthday.
It was a rather ambitious undertaking, considering it was only my second attempt (the first was a baby quilt, about 1/4 of the size). I meant for it to be large enough to cover a queen size bed, but once I started piecing it together I realized exactly how huge that was. I ended up making it a bit smaller, but am pleased to say that it can still fit at least three people under it quite cozily (my mom, and two sisters tested it out).
I used Kaffe Fassett shot cotton from bon bon atelier in all different colors to fill in between the Amy Butler fabric. This project brought about some valuable lessons, especially once I started piecing it together. Keep in mind I've never had any quilting lessons or sewing lessons for that matter so I'm learning as I go. One example of an important lesson: I tried to line up the rows of Amy Butler and shot cotton so they would be a nice grid. However it became clear early on that I had mis-cut quite a bit and lining up was not going to be an option. Instead I let the squares sit free form next to each other.
I also did some improvising again when it came to attaching the front and back to each other. Again it was quickly revealed that my measurements were off somewhere along the way, and the whole things was not exactly rectangular, but rather had a bit of polygon action happening. Who knew there was so much math involved in quilting? However you live, and learn, and next time it will be even easier (and hopefully a whole lot straighter).
And of course I had to take the obligatory cute dog pictures before I handed it over to my mom for her birthday.
xo ~ Em
