A trip down memory lane: My first quilt

I am full swing into Christmas quilts, and I know many of those who are getting homemade things from me this year read here (Hi Mom! ;) ) so I'm going to be pretty light on new content over the next few weeks. I'll probably do a few sneak peaks of bits and pieces here and there, but for the most part I thought I'd go back and show you some of the quilts I've done in the past.

I've fairly new to the quilting world, but not at all new to quilting and crafting in general. I am lucky enough to have wonderful mother who has taken all sorts of time to show me how to sew, knit, quilt, cook, and pretty much anything else you'd need to know. Growing up, she'd always let us pick up a counted cross stitch kit or skein of yarn when we were out and about. It gave me so much appreciation for the hand crafts and lots of skills I'm so thankful to have now that I'm an adult.

Fast forward to early 2009. My husband and I were over at my parents house for a weekend dinner when I mentioned something about sewing. Longs story short, they offer to let me take my Dad's aunts old sewing machine and table home to play around with. It was so much fun to play with and I fell in love with the idea of quilting again. One of my dearest friends had just announced she was pregnant with their first, and would be having a little girl that summer. I got really excited about the idea of making a quilt for her. On my birthday in April, my mom took the day off and we had a mother-daughter day and I got to pick where we spent the day. My big choice was the fabric store. I asked her to help me pick out fabrics and a pattern for this quilt and I love what we came up with. I whipped up this little beauty and was able to give it to my friend at her baby shower.

Man I tell long stories! (I'd apologize, but, hey, it is my blog! :) ) Here is the quilt!

*I have to put in a little plug here for my friend, Ingrid Barlow. This is one of her many amazing quilt patterns! She has a great website with lots of tricks, recipes and general crafty goodness. I love checking in with her on Monday's because she does a great thing called "Movie Monday" where she offers some tips for the week. She's like a Midwestern, crafty Pioneer Woman. Her tag line is "quilting for the modern traditionalist" - right up my alley!

(I'm on the left, new momma's on the right)

Overall, I'm thrilled with my first quilt. I wasn't adventurous enough to do any quilting on it, but the colors are great and fun for a baby girl. (They remind me of those pastel wedding mints) The only bummer is that I know it is stuffed in a closet some where and hasn't seen the light of day. One of those hard lessons as a quilter, I guess, is that not everyone wants a quilt or will use one. All I can do is hope that someday she'll be cleaning out things from her mom and dad and find it and at least know that someone loved her and spent time making it for her.

Happy quilting!