Mom's Christmas Quilt

This is (almost) the quilt that started it all. The first quilt I ever finished was a baby quilt for my nephew Logan. Plans for that one started as soon as I found out my step-sister was pregnant (September 08). I borrowed a machine, went out and bought a cute, gender-neutral kit, and made it. Didn't catch a picture before I sent it off, but I'll try to get one later. After I finished it, I had a bit of extra fabric.

And so, this quilt began. I ended up only using two fabrics leftover from Logan's quilt (a fairytale print that I have one scrap left of that I adore, and a green scroll-y print). The corners are leftover flannel from my favorite men's PJ pants that ended up ripping beyond repair. I washed the pants, then cut up the legs (which were HUGE) and saved the fabric. It's soooo super soft, too. All of the other fabrics I either bought or already had lying around. All this quilt takes is fat quarters, which I bought at Joann's on sale, so it really didn't end up costing very much at all. The colors aren't exactly unified or matching, but I liked the idea of using fabrics that I really loved, regardless of whether or not they "matched." The back (and the binding) is this beautiful brown print that goes well with our living room. Since the front is so busy, I wanted the back to be one fabric. Also, I was sick of sewing at that point. Everything is hand done. Hand pieced, hand quilted, hand bound. My fingertips hated me for weeks. The worst part was the binding. Figuring it would take me about a day to do, I started it the week of Christmas. 4-5 hours later, one edge was finished. Now, a day on Christmas break for me was about 10-11 hours, only 5 or 6 of which my mother wouldn't be home (yes, I slept in as late as I could; I'm in college, it's what we do). The clock was against me. After 2 nights of staying up until 3am to finish just one edge, I got it done.

I started this quilt in Winter 08, and finished it on December 23rd, 2009. It was just in time to give my mother for Christmas. She knew what the top looked like, but I managed to keep her from seeing it quilted and bound until Christmas morning (a great feat, let me tell you). I consider this my first quilt, since I did EVERYTHING on it (as opposed to the kit, which already have the fabrics picked out, the pattern laid out, and the proper cuts all ready). And I know she loves it, which makes those tedious hours all worth while.