Quilting Adventures, Part 1

Back from a bit of a hiatus. We've moved states and school started, so it's taken a bit to get settled in. I know a lot of sewing bloggers are thinking, "Yay! School has started! I can sew again!" and I'm over here thinking, "NOO! School has started! There goes my sewing time!" Luckily there's always the summer!

Anyay, I made a quilt! I did! I did! Well, to be fair, I finished a quilt. I've started a few, but this is one of two that I've officially finished. My nephew owns the first one.

Quilting is something that I've always wanted to be good at, but I've never had the patience. I've tried patchworking (9-patch and such), but I would get so frustrated that I could never get the seams to line up. Either my squares were off, my seams were off, or a combination of both that slowly snowballed over the course of piecing it together. Also, the very act of quilting requires a great deal of patience that me and my impatient self cannot handle. All of the little stitches and turns and fiddling! 

So, that being said, I've been greedily and broodingly eyeing the beautiful quilts I see all over Instagram and Pinterest, thinking, One day I'll make one. One day. 

That one day was a fateful day while I was visiting my parents that my mom convinced me to go with her to Quilting By the Bay in Panama City, FL. It was my first time in an actual quilt shop, and I was in love! Walking into their shop is almost a sensory overload. Beautiful colors and fabrics everywhere! Moda, Robert Kaufman, Cotton+Steel--fabrics I'd only seen online, never in person! I could finally touch the fabric (I'm a very touchy-feely fabric shopper), see it on the bolt, and look at the whole collection in one place. The store was full of sample quilts and projects, patterns, books, everything you could possibly want!, including a very helpful and patient staff. Highly recommend it if you're ever in the Panama City area. 

I was so inspired that I found a pack of Cotton+Steel coordinating fat quarters and a simple quilt pattern that explained exactly what I would need. It was time to take the plunge. Perfect! 

Fat quarters! And a backing peeking out.

Getting it layed out

It's a start! 

The backing wasn't quite wide enough, so I took a color block I'd messed up cutting and a few C+S charm squares I had in my stash. 

This pattern is perfect for me as a beginner quilter because it has large, simple blocks; it's a quick-sew (by quilting standards); and it showcases the beautiful patterns in the fabric! I really had fun getting this one sewn together. I'll show you the finished product next week!

Do you have a favorite beginner quilting pattern? I'd love to see it!