Quilting with Beyoncé

So I have known for a while I am not your average knitter, scrapbooker, or quilter.  Whenever I go to any local gatherings like this I am usually one of the youngest. This doesn't make me feel out of place, but it does make for interesting conversations.  I was making a few things recently (while listening to Beyoncé and then Rihanna) and I thought, does the typical quilter/knitter/scrapper know all the words to XO and Work? I find it hilarious because you can never judge a book by its cover. I remember one time about 2.5 years ago, I was looking at thread in a big box store and I was just checking all of the thread to see what was available. A lady came up to me (a customer, not an employee) and said "Oh, that's quilting thread, is that what you're looking for?" I slowly turned to her (because I had to be sure this was really happening) and said "I'm just looking, I'm getting new thread." She pressed on with "Well, that's for quilting, I mean you're not quilting are you?" This last part was delivered with a mix of derision and panic. I responded "No, I just wanted new thread...do you work here?" Realizing her error, she fumbled a little and said "Well the machine thread is over there...this is quilting thread..." and proceeded to roll her cart away. I laughed because a.) I could not believe you tried to deny me this thread, b.) You don't know me so you have no idea what I'm looking for, and c.) Why would it be so shocking that I might be quilting? It's not like if I buy this thread I'll use up all the quilting space in the world. My quilting doesn't hinder your ability to quilt, but the confusion in her face was so real. I giggle to myself everytime I buy thread now, since I can quilt and I've graduated to embroidery, I'm using all of the good thread. I also think sometimes when I'm knitting, quilting or scrapping that I am not the average crafter, because I do craft to music you might not expect and I may not look like everyone else in the guild, but I'm just as happy as anyone else to show my work! I hope everyone feels that free when you're creating and don't let anyone make you feel nervous about it. Happy crafting (cues Drake-Hotline Bling)!

New fabric and thread stash. 

Making my First Quilt

Hi everyone, I am continuing to work on my baby quilt(s) and decided to make them at the same time.  So since I do not know if boys or girls are expected, I tried to make these gender neutral.  I cut 275 2.5" charm squares for the centers of the tops, which require 100 squares each. Luckily I have a co-worker who is an amazing quilter, so she talked me through the beginning of this and was even kind enough to draw me a diagram for my first rows.  In addition to the fabric, she instructed me to buy starch, spray baste, and to start my rows by chain stitching. That last piece of advice was priceless, I was able to finish 4 rows last night.

Each row is 10 squares across. 

I could not believe how quickly this came together, especially since I once spent an entire Saturday sewing and it yielded 2 sad placemats.  My coworker told me if I just worked a little everyday and then on the weekends, I could finish both quilts in 6 weeks.  When she first said it I thought she was joking, but now that I've started, I think she's correct. She suggested I time myself for this one so that I will have an idea in the future how much time I would need to make one. As of this post, I am 4 hours in, including cutting the fabric. Oh yeah, this is my first quilt, but I'm hoping one day I can make a quilt with these squares.

How amazing is this? 

I'm also still working on my cowl, just had to get started on these quilts though, hopefully both quilts and the cowl will be finished by April! I will post my progress here, happy crafting!

Demystifying Quilting

So I just got word that some folks I know are expecting babies later this year and I have always wanted to make a quilt, and here's my chance, baby quilts! I'm excited about this because now I too can be one of those savvy crafters that buys the correct thread and modestly says "A quilt" when the cashier asks what I'm making. Hahaha! Seriuosly though I have wanted to make a quilt forever but it just always seemed like such an overwhelming task, like I could not make a quilt unless it was worthy of being entered into the county fair.  I'm saying that because I feel like quilters are almost a secret society, where you have to be grandfathered (grandmothered?) in, or at least have learned the skill when you were little. I am the first person in my family to attempt quilting and the only one that knows how to use a sewing machine, it's like being first generation, but with crafts.  The difficulty in jumping in solo is that all of the tribal knowledge and nuggets of wisdom are hidden from you. Who are you going to ask about the best way to cut strips? Unless you can find a sewing circle, you're going to use my good friends YouTube and Google! Because these exist, you are in luck and you can meander through just about any crafting task with these two resources, that's how I learned to knit, by watching YouTube! In fact all of my crafts started with YouTube, knitting, crochet, paper crafting, and coloring.  So as I start my first baby quilt, I will take you on the journey with me and share my experience and anything I might learn along the way! Here are the first 110 charm squares...I need 220.

Charms squares all day. 

Luckily these babies are due in the fall, so I have time to try, make mistakes and then try again. Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting! Oh, I am still working on the Veritas Cowl and expect to have it done I another week or so.