Crafting: Quilting adventures

Here is my quilting story.


My friend S is having her baby shower next week. She is an awesome co-worker and a dear friend whom I've grow close to. She once mentioned that she really loves and appreciates handmade gifts. I felt bad when I gave her a store bought maternity wrap-around sweater for Christmas, even though it was a lovely one. I had planned on making her a Christmas gift, but who knew time flew by so quickly. I wasn't able to make anything for her in time.

I swore I would present her with at least one handmade item by me. So as the date for the baby shower drew near, I decided to try making a baby quilt for her little boy.

I went on the Fat Quarter Shop to pick out a set of cute fabrics for the quilt. There were so many to choose from, before I knew it, I had at least a dozen picks on my wish list. But I finally settled on this set.

The British Are Coming Fat Quarter Bundle, Michael Miller Fabrics

Then I cut them into 5" x 5" squares and spent the rest of the afternoon piecing the quilt puzzle together. This was the most frustrating part - trying to figure which configuration looks the best. After a while I went cross-eyed and had to step away for awhile before returning to the project.


Then came the sewing, which I thought was going to be painful. Turns out, it went quite smoothly. And I don't know what I did right, but all the rows were properly aligned! That was my worst nightmare. I was afraid after I put all the rows together, the squares wouldn't align. I think I really took special care to measure and cut as accurately as I can, and to draw out the seam lines before sewing. Sure, it took more effort, but it was worth it in the end, no frustrating out-of-line-pieces!

I added a border, then put the quilt top, batting and backing all together. That was the easy part. It's like making a coaster only 50 times bigger. :)

This is the front...

And that's the back - gingham!


I love the end result. Now I want to attempt an adult sized quilt, seeing how I ruined our quilt in the dryer (left it in too long, burned the insides, long story.... sigh).

And my awesome friend from Singapore has placed an order for a quilt already! This was even before she'd seen my first finished quilt! She just wants it to be ready by Christmas. CHRISTMAS?? Thank you for giving so much time to prepare and practise. How some people have so much faith in me I will never understand, but I really appreciate!! Love you, Shobs!


I can't wait to present this quilt. It makes me feel all fuzzy inside when I think that her baby boy is going to grow up with my blanket in hand, like this:

Thank you Nana Glo for the inspiration, and to Kim from the Fat Quarter Shop, I love your stuff!


I'm officially addicted.