A long time ago, when I first started this blog, I shared a quilt that I had made for my daugther, Savannah’s room before the arrival of her baby sister, Matilda. Well, in looking back and those pictures………let’s just say, they were less than attractive.
So I took some time to take some somewhat better shots of the quilt I made for Miss Savannah Rose. It’s the only really large quilt I’ve ever made (twin sized) and I will be forever proud of it!
I made this quilt out of Heather Bailey’s, “Freshcut” fabric line, which has since gone out of print. I used a fat quarter set and a jelly roll for this twin sized quilt. I cut the fat quarters up into smaller squares and cut the jelly roll strips down as well. In retrospect, had I known more about quilting, a “layer cake” would have been more appropriate and easier to use for the large squares. But live and learn, right?
I pieced together the entire top of the quilt, but then I sent it to a quilt shop to have it machine quilted. If you’ve never had anything machine quilted, it’s a pretty fun thing to do. A lot of local quilt shops or quilters have what’s called a “long-arm” quilting machine and you can pick any pattern you’d like from their designs and have your quilt top quilted.
Generally when you send something to be machine quilted, you will send your finished quilt top, your quilt backing, which should already be pieced together, and sometimes you send your batting. Some shops provide batting that you can purchase and others do not. Also, if you want the shop to do the binding for you, they usually will, but you need to send additional yardage for the binding strips.
I spent so much time piecing together the top that I decided I didn’t want to mess it up by quilting it myself. I also wanted this quilt to be an heirloom piece that Savannah will keep forever. Maybe, just maybe, I will quilt my own large quilt someday, but for now, I like to do the piecing and have the machine do the quilting!
Lindsay Wilkes is the owner and designer behind The Cottage Mama. She creates timeless, vintage inspired sewing patterns for children’s clothes. She is also a fabric designer for Riley Black Designers / Penny Rose Fabrics, author of the book ‘Sew Classic Clothes for Girls’ and can be seen teaching nationwide and online in her video series ‘Lessons with Lindsay’ sponsored by Baby Lock Sewing and Embroidery machines.
It is beautiful, Lindsay! I know how proud you should be after finishing several myself. Congrats!
beautiful! freshcut is my ALL TIME FAVORITE line of fabric. I have some I am hoarding… I have to think of the perfect thing to use it on. I really loved that line for some reason. I made a zig zag quilt with it and it is so pretty. Thanks for the quilting tips.. I have one I am going to send out to be quilted by someone else. I want it to be more elaborate than what I can do.
GOOD JOB cottage mamma!
this quilt is so gorgeous…seriously amazing work
Beautiful! I want to do a set of strip quilts for my girls for when they share a room. Olivia is only just-shy-of 8 months old and I already have the fabric hoarded away to make two twin size quilt tops LOL. I’ll do stripwork so I can do it myself and just quilt along the strips, I doubt I could get my hubby on board for paying to have my quilt quilted for me! I don’t dare do anything as elaborate as this knowing I’ll have to quilt it myself. You did a great job, what a gorgeous quilt.
It is very lovely, beautiful. I hope to expand on my quilting skills soon. Maybe I will start with a baby quilt. 😉
Such a pretty quilt! I got a twin size one made by the ladies of Marie Madeline Studios for my daughter’s room when she moved to a big girl bed & I love it! Hopefully I can try to make one on my own one day……I’ll add that to the list! 🙂
it’s beautiful lindsay! and thanks for re-sharing it, you totally should be proud!
Your daughter’s quilt is really beautiful. I *love* the Freshcut line. I also made my daughter a quilt with it 🙂 I learned how to use a long arm machine last weekend; there is a sewing center in town that rents it. It was soooo fun and perfect for quilting the larger quilts! I have already quilted two and have one more to do this weekend!
What a beautiful quilt! I love the pattern and the fabrics! I bet your daughter will cherish it forever! I wish someone had a long-arm machine around here….it takes forever to do it by hand (machine)!
A very beautiful quilt indeed! You have a lovely blog and it’s been fun to get to know you. Your sewing studio is such an inspiration and what a delightful place to “create” right next to your family space. It has been a joy to “visit!”
That is gorgeous! And I have always wondered what a long arm machine does.
I’m so glad you get someone else to do your quilting! Now I don’t feel nearly so bad 🙂 I love the creativity of piecing a quilt top, but I really get so frustrated with quilting, so with my last quilt (also for my daughter) I sent it off to be quilted & I am so glad I did! Thanks for a great blog!
LOVE the quilt! I never knew quilt shops would do that! Now quilting doesn’t seem so scary! 🙂 I enjoy piecing them together, it’s the quilting part that intimidates me! Thanks so much!
very pretty! I’m going to make a queen sized quilt for my daughter this year for her grad present. I have until June… I’ve never made any quilt bigger than a dolly quilt.. 🙂
That is beautiful–the fabrics are divine!! I am looking to tackle my first quilt–is it an easy pattern?