Halloween quilt

“How long does it take me to finish a quilt?!?” She asked herself as she stared at this quilt for months until she finally finished it…

Look, it’s not entirely my fault that this quilt took me so long. Okay, okay, there is literally no one else involved in making this so it is entirely me, but hear me out. I started this September 2022, but we were packing and planning to move into a new apartment by November. Between unpacking in the new place AND the holidays, there was just no time to quilt. But I eventually got my sewing station set up and finished this bad boy by March 2023. I swear it typically doesn’t take me so long, this was a special circumstance.

I originally made this quilt with the plan to sell, but it’s been in my life for so long at this point, I’m not sure if I can actually part ways. I don’t know…we’ll see.

Mini Handbag for Ashley

With my best friends birthday around the corner and my desire to use up some extra fabric from a quilt, I wracked my brain trying to come up with something I could whip up in a day or two. Something cute but functional that I could mail down to her in a small-ish box (those USPS rates are no joke). While staring at some squares of fabric, it hit me! “What about a mini tote bag?”

Did I look up a pattern? No. Did I watch a how-to video? No. I decided to completely wing it.

The pink, white and black floral fabric was screaming her name. I had JUST enough of these particular squares leftover to make a mini functional tote bag. The perfect size to throw a few must-haves when running out for the day or tossing some toiletries in for an overnight trip.

My original idea was to do one long strap so it could actually be a cross-body bag. However, I didn’t have enough fabric, and to be fully honest, I didn’t have the time to figure out how to attach the straps properly, so regular tote bag straps it was!

Once I got the straps attached, I remembered I had cute tags my mom had gifted me for Christmas, and I obviously needed to add one to this. I had the quick realization that I should have attached this to the inner fabric before assembling the bag, but ya live and ya learn. It was a frustrating task sewing the tag into a fully constructed bag, but once it was done…it was done!

I got it done quicker than I had hoped, and did my giddy happy dance to celebrate. I lint rolled it, put some candy and a birthday scented candle in it, and wrapped it up in a box. Then I waved goodbye as I dropped it in the post box so it could go to its new home <3

T-shirt Quilt - A Nerve Wracking Project

I was trusted to make a quilt out of a friends t-shirts and it was my most nerve wracking project i’ve probably ever worked on. It took me likely close to 6 months (if i’m being honest with myself it was probably over 6 months) to finish it because I was so nervous that I’d screw it up.

Working with t-shirt is totally different than regular quilting cotton. It’s stretchy, it’s thin, it’s less structured. It doesn’t glide under my 10+ year old Brother presser foot the way the fabric i’m used to working with does. After staring at the half done quilt for months I had to whip my ass into gear and get it done.

Saying I had to grind was an understatement. But once I got going and I saw it come to life, I couldn’t stop. Then i fucked up. I didn’t think about the way the fabric was stretching and I quilted it from both ends into the middle, like I had with a previous project. I was left with a row of bunched up fabric that didn’t get stretched. I frantically paced around my apartment trying to come up with some way I could fix it. I had a mental breakdown. Then it just hit me. Sam, you’re a human being who is learning how to do something and you made a mistake. This is your first time doing a quilt like this, perfection can not be expected. So I turned up the music in my headphones, pushed the bunched up fabric down, and quilted over it.

Do I wish it was perfect? Honestly yeah, I do. It still hurts me that it’s not. But at the end of the day, I turned someones previously loved t-shirts that were just sitting in a box getting no use, into something that can be used and turned into a family heirloom. And that’s enough for me.

Creating a Dress

After not sewing for 10 years and then re-introducing my sewing machine into my life, I’ve been branching out and creating clothing from scratch.

I try to be mindful about the companies I support and what they do to the environment (not to mention labor laws 👀) but my bank account is sad (hey student loans 👋) so usually cheap fast fashion is the only thing that’s realistic when I have something very specific in mind. I couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger on something that I knew would make me feel guilty…so off to Jo Anne’s I went! I found a pattern that was close to what I was envisioning and a nice ditsy floral print cotton fabric.

It was confusing at first but through trial and error I made a dress!! It’s not perfect, but for my very first try I couldn’t be more pleased.

I wore it to my brother and sister-in-laws baby shower and it got so many compliments 🥲 It was really rewarding saying “thanks I made it” and not indirectly promoting fast fashion by telling people where they could buy the same one.

Creating through sewing and fabric is turning into such a therapeutic hobby for me. I spend my days working on my computer and I crave problem solving that I can do with my hands and physical materials. It’s something I feel like I have a natural talent for and have been sewing almost everyday since I reintroduced it to my life.

This is your sign to do that thing you’ve always wanted to do!

Retro Inspired Quilt

With 2 quilts under my belt, it was finally time to make one for me. I had a quilt when I was a kid made with vintage fabric and that was totally my inspiration for this one.

This was a really fun fabric store trip. It took a little more digging to find the perfect 60’s-70’s inspired patterns but I think they all ended up working really well. I didn’t want to do one as large as the one I had made for Shane but I needed something larger than a baby blanket…I ended up with a nice over the leg throw.

Since the last two quilts were both square patchwork I tried the triangle/hourglass pattern. I was not disappointed. The only fault I really had was not cutting the backing correctly but I just added some left over patchwork squares from the front.

Check below for a bonus pic of some little pillows I made for my niece next to the quilt.

Black & White Quilt

Now that the baby quilt was done, I was ready to tackle a larger human size quilt for my boyfriend, Shane. Although a halloween theme quilt would have been totally up his alley, we went for a more timeless black and white theme for this one (a Halloween theme is definitely coming though).

I absolutely love how this came out. The white floral fabric is my favorite and a great contrast against the darker pieces. The larger quilt was much more of a challenge in my small space, but i’m really pleased with it.

Rainbow Baby Quilt

With the news of my first niece I wanted to do something special. Something that I could put time into and gift to her that she would (hopefully) cherish for a time of her life. Though I hadn’t touched a sewing machine in 10+ years I was determined to make a baby quilt.

The babies room is rainbow themed, which made the quilt so much more fun. My mom, sister-in-law, and my self took a little trip to the store to pick the fabric for the quilt. We went with various different rainbow patterns, yellow and white stripe to tie in the yellow backing, and a few Star Wars squares for a personal touch.

Though I ran into some mistakes along the way, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the process and how well the quilt came out. This reignited my passion for sewing and i’ve been on a kick ever since. I absolutely can’t wait to see her all wrapped up <3