First ever Quilt: Disappearing Nine-Patch

[Celes_Lionheart]

Hi everyone! I figured I would share one of my latest projects that I am working on, my first ever quilt =D

I resently got a sewing machine for my bithday from my very awesome and wonderful Fiance. So not only is this my first quilt, I am also teching myself to sew at the same time ^_^;;

I found a really awesome tutorial online on Obsessively Stitching that walks you through this project.

http://obsessivelystitching.blogspot.co ... -ever.html

I am trying to get this first one completed so that I can make 2 more for Christmas, one for my Fiance and one for my Father-in-law. I decided on this first one, since I am bound to mess up, I would pick colors and fabrics that I loved so that I will keep it =D


So far we have the fabric selections... (I used 9 fat quarters for this)

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Then I spend a few afternoons cutting my fabric into 6x6 squares. I was able to get 9 squares out of each piece of fabric. I messed up the cut pretty bad on a few of the fabrics, so I ended up having to replace 2 of them ^_^;;

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I spend a few days sewing the blocks into my little nine patch squares...

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Then I cut those up!

It was so stressful to cut up my patches I had worked so hard on, but it ended up turning out alright =D
I laid them out and carefully figured out the columns and rows that I wanted for them...

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Now I am finishing up actually sewing the top together! And to think, this top piece is cake compaired to the rest I have heard... lol

[spinuntilyoufall]

That's looking wonderful!!! I don't think the rest is any more difficult, per se, I just find that after the excitement of watching the top come together the finishing is tedious (the 4 or 5 quilt tops my mom has in a chest are tribute o that.) But then again, I've known people that can't wait to get through the top just so that they can do the finishing parts.

[$n0wflake]

That quilt is adorable! I love the colors, they're the same as my craft room
I'll keep watching this thread I can't wait to see them finished

[Eliste]

I just hate the quilting part. It's so easy to get the backing puckered or tucked in by accident and it physically takes more effort to get it through the machine.

But your top is looking lovely! Are you gonna do any borders around it? The colors are great!

[Celes_Lionheart]

^_^ Thanks guys!

Yes, I do plan on doing a boarder, I keep looking for some pretty fabric that has pink, black, and white in it that I like. I've come up a little short at Jo-Ann's, so I plan on making a trip out to the new Hobby Lobby soon to browse and see how I like their fabric.


At first I was going to do a plain pink back with maybe a pieced strip, like the tutorial I am using sugests. I'm still not sure though if I want a solid color or if I want to see about a pretty pattern... ^_^;; Fabric can be addictive!

Oh yeah, I had forgotten to mention before, this is going to end up 45"x60", so basically the standard quilt size or basically perfect sitting at the computer size =D

[tnitnetny]

You don't lay everything out and pin it before quilting Eliste? You should ALWAYS lay out your backing and tape it directly to the floor, table, whatever flat surface you have. Then lay the batting and the top and start pinning. The more pins the better it will be. Then trim the batting and backing to 2 inches from the top and quilt! You should never have puckers or tucked in (I had 1 or 2 tuck ins before I would trim in after pinning).

Nice color choice and great job on your first quilt!

[Eliste]

You don't lay everything out and pin it before quilting Eliste? You should ALWAYS lay out your backing and tape it directly to the floor, table, whatever flat surface you have. Then lay the batting and the top and start pinning. The more pins the better it will be. Then trim the batting and backing to 2 inches from the top and quilt! You should never have puckers or tucked in (I had 1 or 2 tuck ins before I would trim in after pinning).

I do! I pin the bloody hell outta it! It still happens though =(

[tnitnetny]

And you are taping the backing to the floor first before you layer? This should prevent the puckering. If you are then I have no clue what is causing that. I can't really come over and watch and help out or I would.

[Eliste]

So I complained about it to my mom last night and she had some words of wisdom.

"yes, dear, you'll have to deal with that if you keep using flannel/felted cotton"

Apparently, because I like the backsides to be all snuggly and use non cotton fabrics, it goes through the machine differently than the top, which is probably what makes my 1-2 puckers per quilt. Who knew!!

[kattasaurus]

This looks great! I think I've been inspired to start a quilt. Can't wait to see it finished!