[ Sample quilt design idea found on Pinterest ]

{waves} Oh, hi. Remember me?

I’ve been around, just not blogging. I’ve been watching tv, visiting with long-lost friends, and – of all things – working on my first quilt. (!!!)

Some of you may remember when I first started talking about my first quilt attempt, and talking about what design I was going thinking about, but forget all that. Since then, I have changed the design four times, the materials twice, and stitch ripped out a full design that I had sewn together and pressed out.

I originally wanted to do hexagons down one side of the quilt till I started putting the triangles together. At one point, when I was very tired, I stitched two halves together incorrectly and came up with a diamond shape. When I looked at it, I really loved the look of it. It was a quilted argyle pattern. Something I haven’t seen before in my Pinterest travels, so I ran with it.

I have all of my argyle diamonds all cut up, sewn up and pressed out. Up next? The attachment of the batting to the backside of the quilt front using spray adhesive, running lots of stitching all over the two layers to hold the batting in place so it doesn’t shift over time, and finally affixing the argyle diamonds in the most suitable spot before finishing off the edges with some kind of ruffle or with a custom binding material using the leftover material I used to make the triangles. That would be nice… in theory. 🙂

One side of my quilt is being made using a plain white bed sheet and will be adorned with the diamonds running down one side of it in a formation (see top image for what I’m going for), and the backside will have this lovely honey coloured flat bed sheet that is 525 thread count cotton. Soooooo soft. I’m also cheating with the batting. I picked up two throw blankets from IKEA to sandwich into the quilt since I figured they are meant to stand up to more washings than a quilt is, and some of the warmest quilts I’ve heard of have army blankets used for the batting. Plus, the throw blankets were a fraction of the cost the cheapest organic cotton batting was.

I’m excited about this quilt. I think that’s what’s been missing for the last year since I started this project. I’m really into it now! 😀

For those who aren’t experienced enough in sewing to know how to do proper tailored hems, here is a video from Threads Magazine on how to do it with a home sewing machine using a hemming foot. (If your machine didn’t come with a blind hemming foot, you can always purchase one for your machine model from sewing stores.)

How to Sew a Blind Hem – Threads.

Every time I buy a bra, it never fits. That’s because I’m between an A and a B cup. I have to take fabric in by pinning it till the cup is tight and is still covering and lifting where it should.

I have a pile of bras I’ve been putting off altering for lack of time and pinning buddy. Now that I have time, I dusted off that pile as well as my table top mannequin buddy that oddly enough has the very same body proportions I have in terms of where my boobs and waistline to my hip crease fall. All I have to do is attach some padding here and there, and this buddy will be my physical twin.

I mean, what are the chances someone’s body would match a table top mannequin to a tee like mine does? With my short odd waist spacing, it’s such a stroke of luck! This buddy is going to make creating and pinning pattern muslins sooooooooooo much easier.

Table Top Mannequin

Have you ever been frustrated trying on clothes or figuring out if you body is proportioned correctly? Here is Imogen’s quick, easy way to tell on your own. This is a great guide for those of us who can’t figure out why off the rack doesn’t work on our bodies. We’re not all perfectly proportioned or symmetrical. Did you know that? Curious? Follow along at home.