quilt queen

So it's the first summer in about three years that I haven't taken classes. Believe me, it's a welcome change. Needless to say I have had a bit more extra time on my hands to pursue some new hobbies.

About two months ago Meg kept on trying to get me to start on a craft. She had started sewing some items, so I thought I would try it as well. Now, I have sewn a number of items in my 23 years, but I have never taken on a big project. I went to Hobby Lobby one night and picked out some fabric - not knowing just what I was getting myself into. Meg showed me a blog that featured a cool way of piecing fabric (http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/2008/05/did-you-see-me.html). It's called the crazy nine patch quilt. Take a look for yourself for a brief tutorial.

Anyway, what should have been a nice project that someone might take their time and spend months doing turned into an obsession of sorts. I started sewing like a mad woman. The square pictured above was one of about sixty that I made. I decided I was going to put together a quilt that would fit my queen-size bed.

After I was done making the squares and adding brown borders between each, I finally had the top ready. My good friend and mentor at work, Val, is a domestic genius. I took my quilt to her for the binding. She did what was called "stippling", as pictured above. She did such a beautiful job.

I had brown fabric for the back and then hand-stitched brown for the edges.

And here you see the final product that now rests on my bed. I am quite satisfied with myself.