Cabin Nights Quilt Along

I recently joined a quilt along to make a quilt for my Gramma for Christmas. I made a quilt for my Grampa too--an Irish chain quilt in LSU colors--that came together very quickly. This one is more time consuming but I'm SOOO excited about making it! My mom helped me put together a bundle of fabric and I love it so much. Here are some photos of the last few weeks. I still need to finish this week's assignment, so I'm gonna remove a kitten from my dining table (kitten foster parent probs), put away my lunch dishes, and go sew! 

Wedding Quilts for my Besties

Two of my besties, Julianne and Sarah, got married this year! Julianne married my brother-in-law in January and Sarah married Zach (whom I've known since he was a child) in March. I wanted to make them each a wedding quilt, and I just finished Sarah's and Zach's, so I want to share them!

Julianne and Caleb's Quilt

This turned out to be the coziest quilt because the backing is a super soft sheet I thrifted. This quilt was made entirely from scraps and recycled materials, which is my fave kind of quilt. Every fabric has a story, and some of the fabrics were given to me by Julianne. As a fabric and second-hand collector herself, I knew Julianne would love it. She's assured me it's been plenty loved already.

Sarah and Zach's Quilt

I LOVE how this turned out. I did buy fabric for it because I wanted it to be in colors that went with their home, but I also wanted it to have a somewhat scrappy feel, so I did all the hearts in different fabrics. They're mostly from JoAnn, but some were already in my collection. The heart is from the Heirloom Hearts quilt by Lo and Behold Stitchery. I love that pattern, but didn't want to make the 9-patch blocks. 

The patchwork backing was not in the original plan. I was originally on task to finish this quilt before the wedding, but got sick and couldn't finish in time. While hanging out with Sarah the week before the wedding, she randomly showed me a patchwork quilt while she was scrolling Pinterest, so I thought it would be cool to make the backing of her quilt inspired by that photo. I used the scraps from the fat quarters I'd bought (a lovely way to reuse them since they aren't my style) plus some others in my scrap bins. I adore how this turned out and will probably do more patchwork quilts/backings in an attempt to use up some of my scraps.

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.)