oh my so busy!

By busy, I don't mean I am overwhelmed with stuff to do.  But rather, my discovery of the pattern I was planning on using for a baby quilt I was putting together was a little...well.. overwhelming.  (And that is probably understating it).  Look at this time, WOW!

So my original thought was to alternate blocks of owls with 2x2 blocks with fun critter stuff.  It looked cute, and was turning out awesome in my head.  And then....the above picture happened.  All I had to say was WOW!

Something had to change.  Sashing was added, border around the entire project and waaa-lahh!  The new updated top.  Not nearly as nauseating as the original plan.

For the back, I thought I would use (and almost use up) the adorable clothesline flannel fabric that my husband picked out couple of years ago.  I love using flannel with kids blankets, just so soft!  I had to keep testing the fabric to make sure it was just as soft as it should be (and don't worry!  it is)

So this little baby quilt is finished, and went to its new home Sunday.  I hope the new little one loves this quilt and all the cuddly goodness it has to offer.

Overall, this was a good learning experience and now I appreciate solids a lot more.  morale of this quilt, don't underestimate the importance of some good solids mixed into your quilts.  :)

Results are in....

Remember this little guy?
I agonized over whether to put this baby quilt into my twins' school auction, & how to value it if I did. (blogged about here.) I ended up submitting it to the auction, & valued it at $60. It ended up selling for $50, & honestly I'm pleased with that. Plus the woman who bought it loved it & though she got a great deal, which made me feel like maybe my work doesn't suck. :)
Our handprint quilt also did well. When I left the auction about 2 hours before it closed, our raffle for the handprints was well over $200, so I'm hoping it made a bit more, but even if it didn't, I feel like our efforts made a decent contribution to the school.
All in all a fairly respectable showing for my first ever venture into any kind of public sale. I don't know that I'm ready to start selling things regularly, but it was a nice ego boost to know that people actually kind of like the things I make. Maybe it will help me shake my novice quilter's insecurity!

An Ambivalent Finish

I finished up my pixelated heart baby quilt this week. I'm still on the fence about putting in in the silent auction with the handprint quilt, but I think I'm just going to bite the bullet & do it. I know what it cost to make, & what I believe it to be worth, but when you put something in a market, its value becomes whatever some one is willing to pay for it, & that's just something I'll have to accept.
The difficulty in pricing anything handmade is, for me at least, the biggest part of the struggle in selling a quilt. People too frequently assume handmade = cheap, or because I'm a stay at home mom that my "free" time isn't valuable, so I always feel a twinge of insecurity when asked how much a quilt I've made cost to make, or would cost to buy. Do I value it at materials alone? How much is my time worth, exactly? It's a calculation I don't feel comfortable making. So far, when making things for friends & family, I always just sew for the cost of the materials. I'd be sewing something anyways, & if I charged a fair price for time & labor, I doubt anyone would want to pay for my as-yet-mediocre quilting skills. (Although I'm improving!)
Anyways, here it is, in all its imperfect glory:

In other news, I decided this was the perfect quilt to test out some free motion quilting, since I'm not terribly emotionally invested in this guy. It's the very first thing I've ever tried to FMQ. I went with loop-the-loops, since I figured that was the most forgiving design. Overall, as a first attempt I'm fairly pleased with the results. The stitch length got a bit wonky at times, & I *may* have overlapped lines once or twice,but I avoided any major disasters. I really enjoyed the process, & I will definetely be doing more, although for important projects I'll be sticking to straight lines or hand quilting for a while yet.

I think next time I'll quilt in the borders too. My husband convinced me to leave them plain in this one, & I'm not sure I like the effect. I didn't have a a yard of fabric I wanted to sacrifice for the back either, so I had to piece one.

It's a cute little quilt, I guess, & if I were keeping it for myself I'd probably be pretty pleased with it. Since my baby has outgrown baby quilts however, into the auction it goes, & I'll hope it makes good money for the preschool.
TGIF!
Linking up to Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.
Kate

Patchwork Insecurity

The silent auction for my twins' school is coming up in a couple weeks, & I had originally told the organizers that I'd give them a baby quilt in addition to the handprint quilt. I wasn't really feeling the project though & didn't make much progress on it until this week, when I whipped up this top.


The patchwork finished at only 30 inches. I've since added a 2" white border & plan to bind it in red, since I feel like it needs something to hold it all together. I'm feeling ambivalent about this little guy, & totally insecure about putting it in an auction. Most of what's in the auction so far is services, (a night out at local restaurants, a beer tasting, salon services, a family photography session), & I feel like my little quit might not draw any bidders & I would be super embarrassed if this sucker went through the auction without a single bid. Or sold for $20.
I know the point is to raise money for the school & I shouldn't worry about my quilting skills, but I can't help it- that's just the kind of nut I am. My plan is to finish the quilt & then see how I feel about it. I guess the worst that happens is I bring home a baby quilt & my pride takes a knock.
So that's where I am this Wednesday-- feeling insecure & linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.
Kate
p.s. Lisa is feeling much less ambivalent about our pending rag quilt project! Check it out here.

A (small) Friday Finish

I've been quilting like crazy the past few days with a borrowed walking foot, & alas, NONE of the 3 quilts I desperately need to get done are finished. Can you hear me sigh from there? Sick kids, a second story remodel & a serious lack of sleep have combined to stall my plans. Never fear however-- I have twin boys turning 4 next week & come hell or high water their birthday quilts WILL be done!
I did wrap up this little guy though.
gc

I think I might like the back better than the front.


It's a 36" square, intended as little baby play mat. I've had the pieces cut from way back in my hand sewing days, & used some leftover monaluna I had from making a friend's baby quilt last year.

Linking up to Can I Get A Whoop Whoop! & Finish It Up Friday.

TGIF!
Kate