My first quilt

 I just recently learned how to quilt and finished up my very first quilted project. Now, I'm used to cutting up old torn quilts and remaking them into new items that can be used for many more years but I never had the courage or faith in myself to try and make my own quilt. Math was not (is not) my strong suit and I was even worse as geometry, it makes my brain hurt haha! But it's good to try things that stretch your imagination every once in a while! When I talked to my good friend about my interest in trying she jumped right on board and even bought an awesome vintage quilt book that has been a game changer for learning how to quilt! I highly recommend this book if you are wanting to learn how to quilt. I promise you can do it! Here's my first finished quilt!!!! We decided on trying the Ohio Star pattern first and even though it is a little more difficult it is just squares and triangles arranged in a certain pattern. I had so much fun with this piece and learned a thing or two in the process. I'm going to write down the things I learned and the things I would do differently next time (because there will be a next time).

The first thing I learned is that quilting is actually easier than it looks! If you look closely at a lot of quilts you will see that they are made of mostly squares and triangles arranged into different patterns.

Another thing I learned and I have a hard time doing is taking your time! There is no need to rush the quilting process and it can actually be relaxing if you take your time and go at a pace that is comfortable to you.

I made my own bias tape out of the leftover backing fabric. It saved me a few dollars and it used up some fabric I already had on hand. I just cut out 4 2" strips of fabric and it actually turned out just how I was wanting!

Pressing my quilt blocks helped to keep things more uniform. I did a few without pressing and they just didn't come out as crisp as I would like.

Shop the sales. Fabric can get pricey! I wait until Hobby Lobby has their 40% off sale for both fabric and batting. I did try and shop some sales from Joann Fabrics going out of business sale but the discounts were still better at Hobby Lobby. 

For the backing on this quilt I used a cotton sheet that I already had on hand. Going to keep an eye on thrift stores for the next project.

I was definitely nervous about basting my project but I finally settled on hand basting since 1. It's cheaper than spray basting and 2. It gave me a little more control. I had a time getting the layers where I wanted them so I actually started off by basting the backing and batting together first and then basting the top layer onto that. Don't know if that's right or not but it helped give my quilt more stability and it didn't shift at all.

And finally here are some things I am going to try to do different/better next time.....

Measure better. I did pretty good measuring things this time but there were a couple times I measured and cut before I was totally sure. 

Cut blocks uniform with each other before sewing together. I didn't do this at first since I thought it should all work itself out, haha! Now I know the more uniform everything is the better and easier it is when sewing everything together. 

Since I am sewing and quilting on my sewing machine I've noticed I probably won't be able to make any bigger than full size. I made full size this time and it was really tight in places.

Design quilt blocks separately before quilting all together. Again, since I am using a sewing machine I realized if I want pretty stitch designs on my quilt blocks I need to quilt the blocks before they are sewn together. I might try this next time!

That's all for now but I just know I will be learning lots with every new project I try!

If you are a more seasoned quilter feel free to leave me all sorts of tips and tricks!