Monday, March 12, 2012

feed sack shenanigans

oh friends. did you know i'm a bit crazy? in the midst of tax season, i have sewed two quilts. both with the same carefully-curated collection of fabric. the first quilt: FEED SACK PINWHEEL was for olivia. olivia is one of the kindest, most tender souls i know. and the best part is she's in my writer's group with me so i get to soak her up once a week. her new baby lincoln is sweetly handsome and i hope he loves his quilt. it was dark and raining the entire week i worked on this, so i never got a great picture of it, or of the back, which is a dark gray minky dot, but here it is.








now onto the next quilt: SPECTRUM PICNIC. this was sewn for my sister angela's new baby, who should be arriving ANY MINUTE OR HOUR TODAY (not that i'm excited or anything). angela wanted something a little more organic and less pattern-y. i hope both her and baby girl like it. as usual, i like the back more than the front.











have you ever thought about sewing a quilt but thought it sounded too overwhelming? well, you know i have a bad habit of getting myself into things that spiral out of control, but i love, love LOVE sorting through fabric, cutting into it, deciding what colors and patterns to mix. i do tend to lose steam after that, but so far i've finished every quilt i've started.

everything i learned about quilting, i learned from the internet.

everything! just one more reason i am in love/obsessed with the internet.

the best binding tutorial here.

most everything else about quilting here.

and i sew at my kitchen table on my mother-in-law's old bernina sewing machine. my only tip is: YOU HAVE TO SEW WITH A WALKING FOOT. if you don't know if you have one or not, you probably don't have one. mine cost $180. 

yeah.

but you really can't quilt or sew on a binding without it, and if you plan on doing more than one quilt in your lifetime, it will pay for itself. the price of quilting a crib quilt starts at around $100.

and i now use it for all my other sewing projects as well.

well, i'm off to scrub toilets and mop kitchen floors. hope you're having a wonderful day.

8 comments:

  1. Yeah, you are CRAZY! Where do you find the time? And the energy?

    But those quilts are lovely. I'm so glad I get to see Angela's in person. Are you going to hand deliver it? ;)

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  2. gorgeous quilts! I've done some quilting with the help of my mother, but none on my own. I love seeing your quilts.

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  3. Oooh! I love them both, especially the second one! I once started to quilt, and got it all done except the binding. That was in 2005. Maybe I'll eventually finish it...

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  4. The quilts are lovely. I especially love your sisters. I love how random the stripes are.

    I've never made a quilt like yours, but I have made two rag quilts and helped with a third. I really enjoy rag quilts. They're quite fun. I am working on a traditional quilt, I've been working on it for years and years, and someday it will be finished. You're my hero for finishing so many so quickly!

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  5. Love, love, love! Lincoln loves his & everytime I got out with it someone says something about how gorgeous it is. Thank you, thank you! I also love Angela's quilt- so pretty & perfect for her!

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  6. Rachel,I love your blog for this very reason! So inspiring and new and fresh! We wonder about you guys since we never see you--so glad you are still growing and progressing. We love ya. (Marcia and LeGrand)

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  7. Holy crap woman, do you ever sleep? ;) Seriously in awe of your quilting skills. I like that you're trying to encourage me to quilt by telling me I can learn how to do it online but it's not going to work. Still too scared to even think about it.

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  8. we really really love the quilt. you're incredible.

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