New Stuff

I went to the fabric store after work today and got some good stuff. I picked up a bright, rainbow fat quarter roll for a quilt for my daughter and some great fabrics for a black and white project. I'll put up pictures of my finds later and I'd like to try a new patter any ideas?

Boy's Disappearing 9 batch



Alright so I'm about 1 week in on my first quilt and I've made some pretty good progress so far :) I had to learn how to read a ruler again and I've invested in a couple of tools that I would say are absolute essentials. the 1st is a rotary cutter and mat (so much easier than cutting with scissors. Along with these you will also need a good ruler, I suggest a transparent one possibly gridded or with a centering guide. If I find any other useful or must haves as I continue with this project I'll post them here as well. 

So this project its for a baby boy due in April of this year so I picked out as may boyish fabrics with some bright colors and interesting patterns.  The first step is to cut 5 1/2 inch squares or buy pre-cut charm pack of some interesting patterns. I wanted this quilt to have an almost 'crazy' quilt feel so each of my fabrics are different. There are some other interesting patterns using this same technique you just have to play with it.

Next Lay out your squares into 3X3 blocks- once you like the lay-out pin together allowing for a 1/4 inch seam. For this quilt I tried to make each block different but kept the solid blue square in the center for each layout. 

Once you have a lay-out you like start sewing you blocks into strips. On your sewing machine set your stitch length so that you end up with 10 to 12 stitches per inch. Once you have your strips assembled press your seams. I found that pressing them open makes it easier to sew them into the large block later

That is it for now- I'll have more pictures and updates soon. 



Introduction

I'm going to start by sharing some info about me. I am a wife, mother and full-time billing supervisor for a large medical billing company in the northeast. After months of my husband telling me I work too much and I should get a hobby and take my mind off work somehow I finally started buying in.

I have been a sewing for years, making Halloween costumes for my daughter, easy little blankets, curtains and other simple items for years. Recently I got the news that both my sister and my sister-in-law are expecting and decided that I wanted to attempt to make them each a baby quilt. I have never quilted anything before and I've been googling for tips and I have come across some really great blogs from experienced quilters but I haven't been able to find much from people like me who are just starting out. So if you are new like me and you want to tag along on my journey to two complete little quilts please check back regularly I hope to have at least one new post a week to show my progress.

For these two quilts I plan on using a 'disappearing nine block' pattern that I've seen on a lot of blogs. They all say it should be fairly easy but look much more intricate than it actually is, and since I'm all about most of the sewing being 90 degree angles and straight lines it seemed right up my alley. I've already purchased my fabric for the blocks (pictures soon) and have started working on what I will call the 'boy quilt' as my sister-in-law knows the gender of her baby already.  Keep checking in to see my progress :)