The Big Reveal: My FINISHED Quilt!

Well...here it is!!!!

Ta-da!!!!!

Here's the back.

You guys, I seriously feel like I just finished a marathon!  I feel like I'm on some sort of running high; a quilting high, I guess.  I'm an old lady.  I am so glad this project is over but I feel so good about having done it at the same time.  Will I make another "big quilt"?  You bet your britches I will.  Will I have a little break before starting my next "big quilt"?  Yup.

The finished quilt measures 58 1/2" square. Big enough for me to be wrapped comfortably in it, but not so huge that I'm drowning in it.  Here are some of the steps that went into making my "big quilt" dream come true:

Cutting lots of fabric and sewing together 32 of these bad boys.

Taping fabric to the floor and making a quilt sandwich.

Putting 192 safety pins in it...Michael counted them.

Machine quilting the beast.  Lots of frustration here...and learning!   :)

There were some other steps in there, like hand-stitching the binding around the edges (while watching several episodes of PBS's Downton Abbey), but you get the gist of it.  Now that I've finished it, I like to keep it in view at all times.  I've thrown it over beds, chairs, the couch, etc.

  

Someday I will probably get sick of looking at it, but I'm nowhere near that point yet.  Now, I'd like to give a shout-out to the women before us, who did all this stuff BY HAND.  My hats are forever off to you ladies.  

Wish I had this hat.

Before I bid you farewell, I wanted to share my favorite picture of the quilt with you all.  

Slam and Paul Terry approve.

Starting My First "Real" Quilt

Today, I did something crazy. I started my first "real" quilt. I say "real" quilt because it's my first big quilt. Recently, I made a small, oddly-sized one just to see if I could do it or would be interested in going all out to do a real quilt.

Here's how that one turned out...Not too shabby, for a first-timer. The quilt top sat in my sewing room for 10 months or so, until I finally got the guts to finish it last month. It was definitely a learning experience, hence the far-away view in the picture so you can't see all the mistakes. :)

Shortly after I finished it, I was invited to a St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild meeting by my friend Laura. I must admit, I felt like a total rookie...especially during the show-and-tell portion of the meeting. I was in awe of the amazing craftsmanship that these women, young and old, displayed. I was blown away by the complex patterns, intricate stitching and jaw-dropping fabrics. However, when my turn arrived to stand in the middle of a circle of 50-ish women and show my tiny first-ever quilt, I received a warm and encouraging round of applause from these modern quilting masters. And I was hooked. Side note...there aren't many things these days that draw the older and younger generations together. But I think quilting does that, which is another reason why I am so excited about it all.

So today, I made my first cuts into the fabric that will become my first "real" quilt. You better believe I already made mistakes, but I am beyond excited to meet this challenge. With a lot of patience (and help from this book, loaned to me by Laura), I will sew, press, and sew some more, and eventually cozy up under my quilt to watch Harry Potter movies with my husband. And then I will start on my next one...

Here's a sneak peek at my favorite fabric that will appear in my quilt (by Jenean Morrison):