Go Ahead, Try It

Have you tried free-motion quilting yet?  Is fear holding you back?  Go ahead and try it!  You really can’t mess it up!  As I was moving the fabric to and fro, that is what occurred to me with this last quilt.  It is not prim and proper !  It’s all over the place.  Running here and there.  Twisting, turning, changing it’s direction.  And that is pretty much exactly me.  A perfect fit!

Ah -but let’s say that you are a person who doesn’t like mess or chaos.  You want things just so.  Precise and perfect.  Yep, I know a handful of you too.  Well, I still believe you should try this technique as an exercise in character.    

 It’s not perfect. I know that. There are imperfections.  But I am not entering it into any huge quilting contests. It’s for my little boy. Who loves it a lot. And his Mama made it for him – which makes it even more special to him.  And besides, aren’t the imperfections one of the things that make handmade so much more meaningful than manufactured?

 

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You’ll see this quilt again in Taylor’s room when I finish it. 
(It’s soooo close!  I have to find time this week to get it done!)
A quilt should be worth more than one blog anyway.    
And just to re-empahsize, dear husband, free-motion quilting is NOT cheating.

Fabric: Amy Schimler’s Animal Party and Forest Fun
Pattern: FREE download from Robert Kaufman

 

By the way, I also know some of you that are stuck at making your first quilt top.  Pick out a simple design for your first quilt. (Pre-cuts really simplify things.)  Then send it off to to be quilted.  My point is try to overcome the hurdle that is blocking your way.  Figure out a way to jump over it and take off running.  Even if that hurdle has nothing to do with sewing.    

And now I must go hang shelves!  Until next time…..

Lunch Time

My baby starts school next week.  He’ll be going to preschool 2 days a week.  And he couldn’t be more excited!  (Isn’t he a doll?  I made those shorts he’s wearing too and never even blogged about it.  Man!  I’m a bad blogger!     )

Of course, now he needs a lunch bag of his own! I bought this pattern from Cascade Lemonade on Etsy. Super cute – don’t ya think?

My little boy is messy (as most 3 year old are, I’m sure) so I wanted to make the outside and inside wipeable. I used an iron-on laminate to accomplish this on the outside fabric. The bag has then has a layer of insul-bright to help keep food the right temperature and nylon ripstop as the lining inside.

Of course I HAD to use the newest fabric from Amy Schimler. Animal Party is super fun. When Taylor saw it he asked if I would make him a blanket for his bunk bed. (He doesn’t have a bunk bed…but a friend of ours has the most awesome bunk bed ever. In fact, I’ll have to get pics to show you guys!) And then he added “And a shirt and some shorts too.”

This won’t be the last thing you see from this fabric for sure! I just LOVE it! The rich boy colors, the fun animals – it makes me so happy.  So happy, in fact, that I think I need to go cut some more of it up for my next project. Okay – hope you have a great weekend!