To Quilt or Not To Quilt

I always think about quilting.  I think it is beautiful, and love looking at different patterns.  So for Laura's wedding gift I wanted to make her a quilt.  So, I went to Walmart and got 8 yards of yellow, red, and white Hawaiian print fabric (her wedding colors were red and yellow).

After 4 VERY late nights...the boys would not let me work on it during the day so I had to stay up to 3:00 every morning.  I finished everything (except the tying and sewing on the back, which I waited to do when I went home).  I was pleased with myself, and despite the sore neck and lack if sleep I had a great time making it.   I still have a lot of technical problems I need to work out before I try to make my next one...like the most important, I don't have a sewing machine (a very nice lady from my church let me borrow hers to make Laura's quilt).  I have a hard time cutting and sewing the squares straight lines, and a lot of my rows were crooked.  But I think that will be something I can fix easily with practice and more time.  I loved picking out the colors, trying to find patterns and that kind of stuff, but I still need to learn a lot of technique.  

The finished product.  I made it to be a queen size...but my math skills are lacking and it turned out to be more like a king size.  All in all...I was happy, and I think Laura and Jamin were too.

This was Clark's baby blanket I made before he was born.  My favorite thing about it was the fuzzy red backing I found.  You wouldn't believe it, by looking at the blanket, but I spent a long time trying to make sure all the stripes on the blanket went the same way.

This was the first quilt I ever made.  I think I was 15 or 16.  I made it for one of my Young Womens personal progress goals.  I just used some old scraps of fabric my mom had lying around, I was SUPER excited about the cow print.  The backing I used was just the bedspread I had at the time.  Nothing fancy, but maybe the beginning of my quilting bug.  I gave it to Emma when I moved out (or rather she stole it from me).

So, to quilt or not to quilt?  I guess I have gotten a little better over the years.  I have been looking for a new hobby that doesn't involve reading and watching tv.  This one may be too expensive.  I would rather learn to knit.  But I can definitely see a few more quilts in my future (I am working on a wedding quilt for Chelsie and Jeremy next).  I think I am only going to stick to squares for now...and what ever you do, don't look to closely or you will see ALL my MANY mistakes.  Also, to Laura, don't wash it....I am afraid it might fall apart.