Saturday, October 19, 2013

"Hoot" - A Finished Baby Quilt

If you are following me on Instagram (quiltyhabit), you know that I started this quilt two days ago. Ha. Ha. Ha. But really, I can't believe how much work scrap quilts are! I should have known after Sedona, right?


Here's the thing. I needed to get this quilt done for a baby shower today - to welcome my 5th niece, who will be here in less than 2 months!! However, I just didn't have the inspiration. I had a stack of fabrics picked out but no definites (Mom wanted owls and purple). And, I'm not ashamed to admit I've been extremely preoccupied by my Modern Maples quilt (which is finally awaiting basting!). Anyway, I wanted the scene to be a tree in the middle of twilight. And I love it.



  I FMQed his little feet on the quilt top before basting! Otherwise, he would look like he was floating. :) We can't have that!



A pieced back with some favorite fabrics -  Central Park and a rose print that I can't get over (don't know the designer). Anyway, I sat down Thursday afternoon and cut. And cut. And pieced. Woo!



The rest of the quilt did not come together without incident, though! Yesterday afternoon, after work, I finished the top. And cut out the owl (all the while getting the husband's opinions: "Does this look like an owl?" "Are these eyes too big?" "Does this look like a tree?" He's very good with these kinds of things!). And appliqued. And pieced the backing. And basted. And free-motion quilted half of the quilt... oh wait.

Then it took me 2.5 hours (it was 9 pm) to unpick all my stitches and fix my machine because I wasn't sure what was causing my bobbin thread to go all wacky every time! I had never seen it this bad before! Agh... best laid plans, I guess. After doing everything under the sun that I could think of (needle changing, winding more bobbins with other thread, cleaning out machine, adjusting needle tension) before freaking out about a possible trip to the shop (ie not finishing the quilt on time), the husband came to the rescue and used his tiny screwdrivers to fix my bobbin case. He tightened the case and that was too much, so then he loosened it. Janome users, do not despair! Then, all was well. Except that it was 11:30 pm and I had a quilt to quilt and bind.


The quilting was the easy part :) I wanted whimsy, so I went with loops and stipples. Usually I would take more time to custom quilt, but a) there was no time and b) all-over, I think, suited this style quilt the best.



Alright, so guys, I've tried the machine binding thing before, and it just DID NOT work for me. I've tried it at least three times with different tutorials and I've been disappointed by the results (probably a mix between me and somewhat confusing directions). NOT this time though; my friend Ashley just came out with a very clear and super short tutorial on machine binding. And guess what? I'm really proud of it. I'm going to keep practicing because it's so. dang. fast. I do like the hand sewing to the back, but after a while, my hands start to hurt, even when I split it up... AND it takes about 4 hours to hand sew a lap size or larger. I'll take 30 minutes at the machine, thank you very much!! (Ashley, you are officially the best!).


I hope the baby loves it! It was a hit at the baby shower, if I may say so myself (I got asked for business cards and "how long did that take?" so it's nice to know that people appreciate handmade so much!). 

Whew. I thought I would take a break tonight, but I think it's time to sew again. :) 


22 comments:

  1. That's some quick turn around. Coincidentally I am churning out a quilt this weekend too for a colleagues daughter who is turning one.

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  3. Great scrap quilt concept! I love it!!

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  4. This is adorable! I love the colors - the purple is so perfect for twilight : ) Great work!

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  5. That quilt is so so adorable! I love the little owl.

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  6. This post made my head spin a bit! lol After all the machine troubles,you came through with a really adorable baby quilt Jess!

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  7. I love it! I never thought you could create a scene with scrappy, but you did, and it's amazing. Congratulations!

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  8. That is so so cute! Going to check out that tutorial because im terrible at machine binding!

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  9. SO SO SO cute!. I love the rose print too...

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  10. You did a fantastic job, Jessica! I love the tree with the purples and the owl adds the perfect focal point. Sorry to hear about the quilting issue! I will remember that next time my machine throws a hissy fit (due back from the shop for a tune up tomorrow--it seems to go in about once a year, bleck). I'm sure baby girl will be delighted with it!

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  11. This is such an adorable quilt. I kept looking at it today on instagram - I love this play on the fabric! LOVE IT. Thank you so much for sharing my tutorial - and I'm so glad it worked! I was hoping it translated and would be helpful!!

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  12. What a fun, bright quilt! I like the look of the hand sewn binding, while it does hurt my hands too. I've found the new clover clips really help that for me. I clip down the binding and I'm not having to hold onto it as much.

    I've only tried machine binding a LONG time ago and I didn't like how it looked, so unless I'm incredibly desperate, I won't do it...but I'm going to check out her tutorial. =) Thanks for sharing.

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  13. Love it! I'm rather an owl fan.

    Following from Sew Cute Tuesday.

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  14. Aw, so cute!! And dang, I was gonna ask about that rose print on the back, it's beautiful!!

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  15. This looks so cute :) I love the little owl.

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  16. What a fun and lovely quilt. Two days, impressive.

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  17. This is wonderful! I love those colours and the owl is adorable :)

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  18. This quilt is so cute! Love the design, and definitely worth all the struggles. Fabulous job. I love how quick the machine binding is and it does get easier the more you do it:)

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  19. LOVE. THIS. QUILT!! The little owl is absolutely precious. You niece will love it for years and years, I'm sure! This one is going on my highlights next week for sure. It is just too darn cute not to!

    Thank you so much for linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday!

    :) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

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  20. Absolutely lovely, Jess. I'm sure the baby's mama was "over the moon"!

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