Okay, so this isn’t really my first quilt, but it’s the first one I’ve done in several years.
This photo is the best representation of the true colors of the quilt.
This is a design I’ve wanted to make for a while, ever since I saw it done on another quilt just before Grasshopper (7, formerly Small Fry) was born. When I was shopping for fabric, I didn’t necessarily have it in mind, until I started putting fabrics together. Generally speaking, I find shopping for fabric equal parts frustrating and exciting. The options, even in a smaller store, can be so overwhelming. But then when you find one that you love, you can suddenly begin to find others that would compliment it so well. That was the case with these. It was the animals first, followed closely by the words. Finding the other two to tie everything together was easy after that!
The backing came later. Even for small quilts, the price of the backing can add up quickly because it’s such a large piece. By waiting just a couple of weeks, I was better baby to shop the sales at JoAnn, where I got flannel for the back at just $1.99 (USD). At that price, I got pieces to back a total of 3 quilts.
The other thing I had to wait for in order to finish this quilt was a “darning foot” for my sewing machine. I love the style of free-motion quilting, but ever since my first machine broke several years ago, I haven’t been able to create that style because none of my subsequent machines allow the feed dogs (the things underneath the needle that pull the fabric through) to drop out of the way. You could cover them up, but with a standard foot, that’s worthless because when you lower the presser foot, the fabric is so squished between the cover and the foot that you can’t move it at all. After a bit of research, I learned that a darning foot doesn’t apply pressure to the fabric in the same way as a standard foot. So I ordered a set. Within minutes of their arrival (I bought a set of 3 for under $14 including shipping), I was trying them out. And I was ecstatic! I was so thrilled to be able to free motion quilt again.
Overall, I’m really happy with how this quilt turned out. My husband mentioned a couple months ago that maybe we could get a booth at a bazaar for the holidays this year, so I have a goal of creating many, many things to sell. Crochet blankets are too much time commitment to be able to build up any sort of stash, so I’ve decided to do quilts instead. This was going to be my first one for the stash, but unfortunately the back wrinkled quite a bit, so I don’t think it’s sale-worthy. That just means that it now belongs to Bumblebee (18 months) instead. And he seems to love it.
Blessings,
