{Quilting for Dummies...and a GiVeAwAy!}

Well, I made Baby MnM's quilt in a day and a half! I know, I'm amazed at myself also! I hope I didn't get everyone too excited at the mention of a quilt the other day, although it is BEAUTIFUL, and I L.O.V.E. it, it is a basic large block quilt. Definitely not an intricate pattern. But wonderful nonetheless!!!

The lovely women who work at Keepsake Cottage Fabrics took the time to generously figure out my dimensions and the size of blocks I would need for this quilt. Thanks to their efforts, I was able to cut, assemble, and create with ease. If they hadn't been such a help, I think it would have taken me MUCH longer. My brain and math (yes, even simple math at times) don't get along. Throw in pregnancy and two talkative children in the room? Forget about it!

I'll walk you through my very simple process of making this quilt, and you will see that even if you don't sew, you could do it too!!

And then I'll tell you about my GIVEAWAY!!! And NO. I'm not giving away the quilt. So don't get your hopes up. ;)

First, you figure out the size you want your quilt to be, and then do a breakdown of the size the squares should be, and how many for each row. Honestly, if you wanted to wing it, you could just cut a bunch of squares and assemble them, and when you are done figure out the size your backing and padding should be. But it's probably better to have some firm dimensions in mind. =)

As the ladies at CKF recommended, I drew out each square on the back of my selected fabric. Each one was measured to be 10 inches square.

I drew and cut them all out, and then laid them out to figure out how I wanted them in the finished quilt. I played with the color patterns a bit, and ended up with this-

(Please note: I highly recommend keeping any dogs, cats, or wild beasts locked up if you are laying your squares out on the floor. You will spare yourself exasperation and gnashing of teeth if you follow this important advice. I also recommend keeping your 2 year old near you in her highchair with snacks, so that said 2 year old does not decide to "Help" and thus become a tornado in the midst of your hard work. Please take said advice seriously.)

Then, I sewed each row. In the bottom corner of each row I wrote in pencil the row number, so that if something happened, I wouldn't get them mixed up. Each square was carefully sewn together. I then pressed the row, and also pressed the seams open-

Finally each row was sewn and pressed, and it was time to sew the rows together-

I carefully ironed each bit as it came together, ironing the seams open so it would sew and quilt nicely-

My fabric for the back is the pink palm tree pattern. I assembled the fabric and batting (wrong sides out) and sewed the whole think together, leaving a gap at one end so that I could turn the quilt. I then top-stitched around the entire thing, giving it a nice boarder, and also closing up the gap that I used for turning it-

I sewed rows along each seam of the squares, first lengthwise, then width wise, quilting it together. My squares didn't match up perfectly each time, so I just moved along the seam as needed.At the end of such a long project, it can be helpful to turn on an old movie. I (thanks to netflix) turned on "Tea for Two" with Dorris Day. It played in the background as I finished up. I highly recommend old movies (especially Jimmy Stewart or Cary Grant) or Christmas movies as a stress reliever at the end of a long day, and while sewing or doing laundry. (Although in the instance of laundry, you might just end up sitting on the couch, with the same basket of laundry next to you and unfolded when "The End" scrolls across the screen...)

Towards the end of my project I had a craving for some cookies. We were out of chocolate chips, so I decided on chocolate cookies. I googled a recipe, and gave it a whirl. Honestly, I liked the dough best. I think the white chocolate chips ruined them, because they were WAY too sweet. And nothing really compares to gooey chocolate butter and sugar right out of the bowl anyways. Just sayin. I mean really, who here just wants to make cookies for the dough sometimes? I'm not the only one, am I?

And honestly? I needed some chocolate therapy. It was an emotionally rough day. Please, please don't send any sympathy to me though, if you think of it, please pray for my church family. Our Senior Pastor went to be with Jesus yesterday. He was a wonderful man, with a faith I hope to emulate. His son is our Associate Pastor (and now Senior Pastor) and his family are all friends of ours. I mention this because I covet your prayers for his wife and children.

Back to the finished product. I decided after a little soul therapy from that bowl of chocolate, to make a t-shirt for LaLa. You will see that in a moment. First, a few more glimpses of the quilt-

Hmm- I see a few threads that need snipping...

And now, for the t-shirt I made for Lala, and the reveal of the giveaway.

The model is cuter than the t-shirt, so she gets first dibs-

Now for the t, I'm sorry that this photo of it on is blurry!

And here is the shirt one more time-

Yes, quite a productive day.

{GIVEAWAY}

I'm giving away one t-shirt just like LaLa's in a size 4t! If you don't have a little one who will fit it or grow into it, it would make a very fun gift! The one she is wearing in her picture is 3t, and I chose it so it would be big, because it will shrink a little bit. Plus she won't out grow it right away!

To enter, leave me a comment! If you want to have a second entry, mention (and link to) my giveaway in your blog! In the past I offered extra entries for licking your elbow, but I'll let you off the hook this time. This giveaway will be open until Tuesday evening, May 25th.

Also, soon I will show you a little tutorial on making your own cute t-shirts for your kiddos. This tutorial will work for t-shirts, tank tops, onesies, or anything else you might want to embellish! It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO simple, and fun. Honestly, I feel like I'm giving some not-so-secret secret away, because I used to sell these on etsy. But really, you can find out how to do them anywhere. =) I want to share the wealth! Its designer for a buck! (Literally, if you find a t-shirt for a buck, and already have the supplies, it is!)

AND (this is getting really long...) I will post next week my Chicken Salad recipe, and my lemonaid-for-one recipe. (Meredith, there you have it! The salad, lemonaid, AND quilt! Hehe. And also some sewing ideas for that new little sewing machine!)

That said, I'm signing off. Enter my giveaway, and be of good cheer!

=)

Megan