You may have noticed that I have not been posting recently about my projects. Honestly, I was sewing like crazy in July and August, but much of it was for my yet-to-be-born, darling GD. Since I was hosting a baby shower for the darling GD’s mommy (my eldest DD!), and I wanted her gifts to be a surprise, and I know my DD reads my blog religiously…well, you get the picture. 😉
Have I mentioned before I am not a quilter? As in, I have started more than one quilt, but I think my completion rate has been a consistent zero. Until I found out I was going to be a GM. I think you must go thru another hormone change when you find out you are going to be a GM – the kind that causes you to do crazy things you would never otherwise consider. Like quilting, for example. I saw an adorable quilt hanging on the wall of a local quilt store. This same quilt store carries a fantastic selection of hard-to-find-thread, which explains what I was doing in the store in the first place. 🙂 ANYWAY, I was mesmerized by this quilt, and decided my first GD had to have it. ÂÂ
Here it is, finally a quilt completed by moi. I seriously have to bow to all quilters out there – this was hard work. All I could think of while I was working on it was how much easier it is to make garments. First off, the paper piecing kicked my butt. I kept having trouble getting the chunks of fabric the correct shape to cover the intended shape on the template. If you don’t know what I mean by paper piecing, ask someone who actually knows something about quilting. Believe me when I say that it is kind of like rubbing your stomach and patting your head, upside down. Not so fun. Then, let’s talk about how crappy the directions were. Three of the four templates in the pattern included the seam allowance, but for some insane reason one did not. Of course, I did not notice this significant detail until 4 of the 5 giraffe necks were completed. Yeah. Get a copy editor, fools. And a pattern tester would be a good idea too!
Sigh. It was really hard, and I was insanely frustrated more than once during the construction phase. But I finished it before the baby shower, and I bet when I see that darling little bundle of cuteness that is my GD sitting on it, I won’t remember my tribulations for a second.
Happy sewing!
Maris Olsen