Quiltivate

Baby Quilts on the Brain

Almost all of the quilts I've done so far have been for gifts. When my niece Sadie was born in February, my sister actually asked me to make a quilt for her like I had for my nephew Ethan a year prior. What an honor -- especially considering Ethan's was my second quilt ever and not one I'd flaunt in my portfolio! But, I was up to my ears at the time Sadie was due on the oversized queen quilt I was making for my sister-in-law's wedding present in May, so I put it on the back burner since Sadie couldn't actually use the quilt for about a year.

I did ask Erin to send me the color of Sadie's room so I could match fabrics and get going on it as soon as I was freed up, but in a moment of innovation, Lowe's decided to re-do their paint colors last spring and little Sadie's purple color no longer existed in the repertoire. :o) Erin is bringing the can of paint for Sadie's room to my brother's wedding in St. Louis this weekend so I can finally get started on Sadie's quilt! Hopefully I can do it in time for her first birthday with all of the other fall madness.

I've been holding off on starting another new quilting project since I finished my sis-in-law's in May so I could concentrate all my time and energy on Sadie. With the prospect of color inspiration coming soon, baby quilts are on my brain! Here's a brilliant post about why we tend to rush through baby quilts with some really cute pictures from Kim at whipup.net. My fave is the bottom one from Small Means -- adorable! Since I'm already so late on Sadie's quilt, I'm determined to make it beautiful and special -- not just thrown together. Thanks for the inspiration!

Common Threads

Dictionary.com defines quilting as "To make into a quilt by stitching layers of fabric together."

Is this something that interests you? Well, then ... we're both quilters! Some of you may never have quilted quite yet -- you're just looking into starting. Others of you have probably started and completed tens to hundreds of quilting projects. Some of you might even get to quilt for a living. If that's you, I'm jealous! Congratulations!

Me? Well, I'm somewhere in the middle. I have no formal training or quilting classes -- I didn't even learn to quilt from my mom or grandma. Actually, no one taught me to quilt - I've sort-of picked it up on my own. I'm not an expert on fabric or thread or sewing. I dove into quilting a few years ago with some encouragement from a friend and a desire to use my newly-acquired sewing machine for something fun.

My original thoughts of what quilts should be was derived from my pre-conceived, pigeon-holed idea of what quilts were in my upbringing in Missouri. Looking back on this now, I'm a little surprised I actually got into quilting with this original view of what quilting should be. See, Missouri in general is fond of country-style: country-style mashed potatoes, country-style ranch dressing, country-style curtains, country-style quilts. My style preference is much more minimalist and modern than this country style I thought defined all quilting. After discovering amazing modern quilting from innovators like Denyse Schmidt, my mind started going crazy with the spectacular possibilities!

I hope Quiltivate and this community can inspire you to make the art of quilting your own -- use fabrics you love; use patterns you love. If you love hand-quilting, do that! If you love machine-quilting, do that. Our common thread is that we have an interest in putting fabric together, layering it and making something from it. Our tastes and preferences and methodologies may vary, but we have the basics in common.

You might as well know up-front that my preferences are in the modern and innovative, so I'm sure I'll be biased in posting to that interest. The nice thing about a community, though, is that you can post things, too! So, welcome -- I'm glad you're joining me here!