I cannot BELIEVE that I have not posted in almost three months.
I suck at quilting.
You see, I only post on here if I’ve done something… Anything, really.
And since it has been three months since I’ve been on here, that just shows how dedicated I am to my supposed “favorite” hobby.

I’m sorry!! However, I hope to make up for it with the picture that I’m about to show you.
My Mom was in town to help me out with my kids a month ago (I’ll tell you why in a minute…) and she helped me lay out my ENORMOUS Hawaiian quilt.

WOW!, right? I absolutely love it and I am sure you all are massively impressed. I could not have done it without assistance, so I am so grateful that my Mom was here to help me do it. She helped my iron the background fabric, which was a BIG chore that absolutely takes two people, and then she helped me lay out AND pin the big design to the background. I think it took about three hours to do and we did it in the dead of night when my kids were fast asleep. Now I need to get on the stick and baste that sucker together so I can get those pins outta there so I can begin the hand appliqué. (Which I estimate will take me, oh, I don’t know…. For.Ever!!)

Basting will take me some time to do, so now I am searching for someone local to help me out. FYI: I’m not a big fan of basting. I hate it, actually. So I am hoping to wrangle my sister into doing most of it for me under the pretense of me teaching her to “sew”. (hahahaHA!)

During this whole adventure I found out that I have severe carpal tunnel syndrome in my right hand and borderline in my left. Three different doctors have advised me to get surgery to correct it… I just don’t know if I can. The recovery involves THREE weeks of no movement of the hand. And then for a month or so after you can’t lift anything and there are other activities that will be limited as well… But I guess I have to wait for the surgeon to tell me what those activities are.

I’ve got two kids.
One is almost five and the other is three.
Taking my right hand away from me would be disastrous.
I mean… you KNOW that quilting would be way out of the question for a while.
And we all KNOW that I love quilting so much that I just couldn’t stand to ever abandon my hobby.

Clearly, I am a horrible quilter.
Have you noticed that I only update this site about once a month?
It’s not because I am a horrible blogger… because I’m not. Really.
It’s because I only quilt about once a month.
Isn’t that terrible?

What is my problem? Maybe it’s because I’ve got two small kids and a painful nerve disorder…. but still. I love quilting. It is relaxing and creative. And it is something I do all by myself. Most of the time, I love the loneliness of it all. But I have to admit that sometimes I don’t want to be so lonely quilting. I want some companions. Oh how I would LOVE to be part of a quilting circle. I don’t know how to go about finding one close to me, but if I found one I’m sure I would quilt a lot more often.

Anyway. That blither-blather isn’t what I came here today to share.
I came to show you all the baby quilt that I just finished for a friend.
Now, before you look I have to tell you a little bit about it.
I wanted this quilt to be simple and fast. So. Only two fabrics were used.

See what I meant by simple and fast?
I can’t say that this is my best work… but I wanted this quilt would be used and I didn’t want the Mother to be afraid to use it.

In the past I have made quite a few baby quilts. And it has been interesting to see what the receiver’s have done with the quilts. Some of the quilts have been loved to death. And I LOVE that. And then some of my other quilts have never been seen again for fear of it being ruined. So this time I wanted to make sure that the quilt was cute and usable. Hopefully I succeeded.

My Hawaiian quilt has given me many problems as of late so I have been avoiding it. Long story short, I misjudged the amount of background fabric I needed and came up short when I was finally ready to lay the floral design out to get it basted together and ready for the appliqué stage. It was a HUGE slap in the face when I realized that I had to buy MORE fabric and start all over… at least with the background fabric.

So now I get to fight with the endless yards of fabric and my iron. I HATE ironing this much fabric because it never goes well. The fabric still ends up a tad wrinkly and the creases that I need are very, very difficult to get right. Ew. Just thinking about this makes me want to avoid it for at least another month. But. I’ve got to get this started and finished! I’ve got to!

See how I need encouragement?
See how I need the prodding of a quilting circle?
Now if only I could find one, I’d be set.

I know I would…. right?

1. I have FINALLY re-finished my ugly sewing cabinet that holds my very first sewing machine.
   
2. I have FINALLY cut out my hawaiin quilt design.
   
3. I have FINALLY finished block #6 from my 2005 block of the month subscription.
   

If only I could get it together enough to post on this blog more.
I so desperately need quilting friends… real life or cyber. It really does not matter at this point.

I’ve made three rag quilts during my quilting career.
I LOVE these blankets. They are cozy, easy to make, and people love them.
But. I’m not really sure if they really are technically what you would call, “quilts”.

I thought that what made a “quilt” was the actual stitching that puts all three layers of fabric together. In my rag quilts, there are no real quilt stitches to be seen. Just stitches that put all the squares together. Maybe I am being too technical and nitpicky about this… and maybe, just maybe, it really doesn’t matter. But this is a question that I’ve been wondering about since I made my first rag quilt. So if you have any thoughts… please. Enlighten me.

The first rag quilt I made was for my first baby. At the time I didn’t know what I was having, so my MIL and I chose bright colors that would do for either sex. The MIL bought the fabric as a present and I was ever so glad… because well… I was broke at the time and fabric can be expensive. I ended up having a boy and this boy is now four and a half years old. He still sleeps with his rag quilt every night and he absolutely cannot be sick without it. I swear, that blanket has healing powers. Can you tell?

The second rag quilt I made was for my second baby. This time I knew that I was having a girl so I picked out what I thought was the cutest flannel ever made. My Mom was with me to pick out the fabric and she bought it as a present to my unborn baby. (Once again… I was broke!) My daughter is about to turn three and she hardly EVER uses this blanket.

She prefers the jersey knit baby layette blankets to any of the MILLION quilts and afghans that I made for her. (OK. I only made one other quilt and crocheted her one afghan… but that is two more blankets than I made for my boy….) I think it is hilarious that she could care less about my craftsmanship… One day she’ll appreciate me and my work. I know she will…. Right?

The last rag quilt I made was a HUGE one (alright, twin size) for my little sister. She loved my kids’ blankets and since she is the baby of a family of six kids, she just HAD to have one for herself. So my Mom found herself in a fabric store buying a LOT of flannel for her baby…. Who just happened to be nineteen years old.

I made the nineteen year old “rag” her own quilt though. For me, that is the worst part of the whole process. My hands hurt after about ten minutes of “ragging” and my scissors take a beating. I figured my little sister was qualified. She is, to this day, my only quilting pupil. I taught her to quilt during her senior year of high school… But that is a story for another time!

Have any of you done any sort of rag quilting?
Care to show me any pictures???
(I love seeing pictures of other people’s work. It inspires me. And, as it happens, I am still in desperate need of inspiration!)

I have three years worth of block of the month (BOM) blocks.
Did ya get that?
Three. years.

Whoa. I know.
I’m a HUGE slacker.

My MIL subscribes to the block of the month program at her local fabric store.
And it isn’t enough just to subscribe for herself. She has to include me in the craziness as well. Don’t get me wrong. I love BOM programs.
They are a fun way to get enough fabric for a quilt top and it gives you something to work on when you don’t feel like working on anything else.

But. (There is always a “but”, isn’t there?)
How is it that I’ve gotten three. years. behind?
Either I don’t like the BOM blocks as much as I think I do or I am a lazy quilter that cannot see a project through in any sort of timely manner.
Clearly, the latter is my problem.
Let me tell you… The lazy quilter disease has taken hold of me to the point that I have been actively avoiding my beloved sewing room. I don’t want to work on my Hawaiian quilt because I’m still not over my Pottery Barn experience and I don’t want to work on my BOM blocks because I am three. years. behind.

I think it is time for me to face my sewing room again. I really love it in there…. so I need to find a way to get over the lazy quilter disease. I thought that if I posted about the BOM blocks that I have finished that I would be inspired to start up again.
Hmm.
Let’s see if this works.

The following blocks are from the BOM program of 2005.
~hanging head in shame~

Credit for this program goes to Marti Michell (Perfect Patchwork Templates) and to the Patchwork Pig.

Air Castle

Spinning Stars

Four T’s

Framed Duck and Ducklings

Sierra Reel

Alright! Now all I’ve got to do is clear off the weeks worth of laundry that is piled up on my cutting table and get to work!!

Wait.
Ewww.
Laundry.

See how easily I am deflated?
Apparently I need help. A lot of it.