12. Some Quilting Projects Finished

It's been a long time since I posted anything here.  It's not that I haven't been doing things, but, as far as the "artsy" things go, I just haven't been that successful.  I'm willing to go public with these three.

I bought the kit for this little 12-inch flag when I started quilting 2 years ago.  It was my first project, and it caused me a lot of frustration.  I didn't know to be super careful with the steam iron, or I would distort the fabric, so I messed up the little flag, and had to (try to) redo.  I had to practice a lot with the blanket stitch around the stars, too.  I finally finished the top and hated all the flaws.  I also had no idea how to do the binding.  I was overwhelmed, and I put it away.  I took it out last month, and, instead of still seeing all the mistakes, I was pretty proud of it and determined to finish it by Independence Day--which I did manage to do.  So.  I finished my first "UFO."

I am now actually looking forward to the next tabletop quilt I will be making for Christmas, hopefully 2020.  That will use a fusible appliqué technique, which will be a new skill to learn.

My godson, his wife, and 2-1/2 year old son recently welcomed a new daughter to their family.  I had a Riley Blake Hello Baby charm pack that I had won at a quilting retreat in 2018, and I thought this was the perfect occasion to use it.  It took a lot of seam ripping and resewing, trimming of uneven columns, sewing additional columns using a second charm pack, and learning to finally accept I was at the point that I wasn't going to be able to make it any better.  The original pattern was Sew Easily Charmed by Sew Prim Khris.

Since I was making a quilt for the little girl, I wanted to make one for her brother, too.  I had a Strip and Flip pattern from Cluck Cluck Sew I had really been wanting to try and a Christa Watson Modern Marks jelly roll for it.  The fabric frayed a lot, but I got through it by using Fray Block at the worst seams.

What major lessons did I walk away with? 

• I do not do well with pinked edge precut fabrics.  From now on, I will cut my own. 
• When making labels in the printer, I will make sure to add a regular quilting cotton border, because the printer fabric is very stiff and almost impossible to hand sew through; I want to avoid pain. 
• I will be sure to check the back of my fabric regulary to make sure my sewing machine is not acting up.
• If I am going to enjoy quilting, I have to forgive the imperfections, at least while I learn.
• Friends who quilt and are there to help you get over the speed bumps very important.

Diane Knott of Butterfly Threads Quilting in Georgia quilted both for me.

Thank you to Pat J. for her instruction and advice and to Kathy M. for her support along the way.