My Plan to Tackle Winter Blues

It's that time of year where it turns dark at like, 5:00, and I am NOT here for it. I like my long, sunny days! I'm very grateful that I am blessed to work from home, so I do, in fact, get to enjoy the sunshine streaming through the windows during the day, plus I find myself outside several times a day with the dogs. Short, winter days were the worst when I worked a typical eight-to-five job, so I'm definitely counting my blessings. Still, I do not like this getting-dark-early business. 

How to combat the winter blues? I'm trying to romanticize coziness in my home. Here's my plan of attack!

• A cozy glow | Come evening, we do not turn on the overhead lights in the living room or our bedroom, but rather we just light a few lamps for a cozy glow. Once the Christmas tree is up, the lights will just add to the cozy feel! I also love to light candles. Truly, setting the atmosphere with lights makes a huge difference.
• Cozy blankets and quilts | While the blankets and quilts live on the blanket ladder all year, it's during the cold months that they truly get utilized. There's nothing better than curling up on the couch in a fuzzy blanket or lovely quilt. 
• Hot drinks | We have ingredients for hot apple cider AND hot chocolate and I've been enjoying both frequently since temperatures have started dropping. I'm sure I'll soon find myself on a hot tea kick again, too.
• Faux fireplace | We do not have a fireplace, but I love putting a fireplace recording on the TV! Even though it's not real, I love hearing the crackling and it adds to the cozy lights.
• Comfy jammies | I've been in SUCH a cozy jammies mood in the last few months and have acquired a few new pair. I just love to put on warm jammies and socks and read under a blanket before bedtime.

My First Quilt!!

Last year, I spontaneously decided to join a quiltalong, despite the fact I'd never quilted before. Over a year later... that quilt top is still not finished. (Unfortunately I'm not liking how it's turning out. Pic below.)

BUT over a year later... I've completed a different quilt!

So... meet my first quilt! (Our foster kitten Louie is doing such a good job showing it off.)

Pattern

The pattern is the Homecoming Quilt by Lo and Behold Stitchery. I've been obsessed with this quilt pattern since the first time I saw it and knew I had to make it. The pattern was so thorough and easy to follow--exact cutting guides, which way to press the seams. A great pattern, and it turned out so beautifully.

Fabric

All of the fabrics in this quilt are recycled fabrics. Several were sheets I'd thrifted to make Bible costumes from, but I ended up not needing as many costumes as I thought and had a pile of fabric left over. The backing is also a thrifted sheet that is originally from JC Penney. The backing fabric inspired my fabric choices for the quilt top. I would have chosen different colors had I been buying new fabric, but I think that's part of the fun of using recycled materials--creating things I wouldn't have thought of otherwise!

Batting

I used Hobb's Heirloom Premium cotton batting (which is 80% cotton and 20% polyester) and bought it in a package that contained batting for a twin sized quilt. It was on sale and the lady at Hobby Lobby (unfortunately the only "quilting shop" my town has) told me she didn't know anything about quilting, so I was a little intimidated to buy batting by the yard without guidance. Maybe next time I'll have the courage! I was grateful it wasn't too thick because I worried that my quilt sandwich would be too thick for my little machine to handle.

Making the Quilt

I didn't make the quilt all at once, but rather spread the work out over several weeks. I cut all the fabric over a day or so, then would make two to four blocks a day. It took about two weeks to make the blocks, then one day I sat down and sewed them all together. The quilt top was done! Then I set it aside and worked on other projects until I got batting (and courage) to put it all together.

For this quilt, I decided not to think too hard--just do it. So I definitely did some things wrong. The backing is super bunchy because I didn't properly tape it down while I made my quilt sandwich. It's okay. The quilt is still super cozy. But it is definitely an area I want to improve in in the future, especially if I make quilts to gift to others. 

The actual quilting isn't the best. I don't have a walking foot for my machine and didn't want to buy one because I plan to buy a new sewing machine in the next few months. A walking foot probably would have made it easier, and definitely would have made my stitches look nicer. Again, I wasn't going for perfect on this quilt---I just wanted to do it! My little Singer Simple is definitely not an ideal machine to use for quilting with just 5.5 inches of throat space, and, as I said, I really should have used a walking foot. 

I thought the quilting part would take FOREVER, which is part of the reason I kept putting off the quilting, but it only ended up taking a few hours. I basted and quilted the quilt in one day. (On my birthday! My 30th birthday. It was the perfect way to spend the day.)

After it was quilted, I decided to make a tag for the quilt. Many quilters say you should always add a tag, so I hand embroidered one! I LOVE how it turned out. I love embroidery and look forward to adding embroidered tags to more quilts in the future. After sewing on the tag, it was time for the last step--binding!

The hardest part was the binding. I've used binding before on clothing and purses, but quilt binding is applied completely differently! I had to watch and read several tutorials to make sure I understood how to apply it correctly. Thankfully, the binding process didn't actually take all that long, and I believe it will go faster (and more neatly) in the future with a walking foot.

Quilting Resources I Used

I have learned everything about quilting (and sewing) from YouTube, Instagram, and books I've checked out from the library. Here are some helpful resources I've used:

Quilting Tip: Scant 1/4 inch - Diary of a Quilter (blog post)

Basting the Quilt Sandwich - Fat Quarter Shop (YouTube)

Straight Line Quilting for Beginners - Fat Quarter Shop (YouTube)

How to Machine Bind Your Quilt - Lo and Behold (blog post)

The Best Machine Binding Method Part 1 - Melanie Ham (YouTube)

The Best Machine Binding Method Part 2 - Melanie Ham (YouTube)

Quilt as You Go Made Modern - Jera Brandvig (Book) (I don't like the actual quilt patterns in this book but really like the binding tutorial.)

Quilt as You Go Made Vintage - Jera Brandvig (Book) (I LOVE the quilt designs in this book.)