Speaking of unfinished projects...

...how's this for one? All this talk about my hexagon quilt made me remember how bad I am at finishing quilts. There is the twin sized one that I started for Moses, um, 5 years ago, which I tell myself I will finish around every Christmas. And there is this one, my first EVER quilt, the one that started it all. :) I remember that a quilting magazine caught my eye in the grocery store about 8 years ago because the front cover featured a quilt with bright pink sashing, which I had never seen on a quilt before. So I bought the magazine, and in my typical impulsive style, spent the next few days tracing and cutting out ALL the tiny little squares and triangles for 49 different blocks. (This was long before I had a rotary cutter.) I used mostly vintage fabrics that my Grandma had given my mom and me, and then went to the only fabric store I knew of and bought vintage-looking fabrics to fill it out. Somewhere along the line I lost steam, and I packed the quilt away with only 7 blocks left to piece! It was a really fun find, and I spent yesterday finishing the last few blocks between chores and playing with the kids.



This quilt is definitely not my style, since I started it long before I had even developed a style or knew what I liked in colors, fabrics, and designs. But I love it anyways. It reminds me of something someone would have made 100 years ago, pieced together from tiny scraps of fabric from old aprons, dresses, and curtains. No two blocks are exactly alike, and it will be one of these quilts I used to like as a little girl - one where you are always discovering a new fabric or color that you didn't see the last time you looked.

I'm hoping to make it to the fabric store to chose the finishing fabrics for this - not sure if I'll go with the original bright pink sashing, but we'll see what I can come up with. Another sewing project on the list, but this one is just for me and the hardest part is complete!

How to hang a quilt

I've had this beautiful quilt in the closet collecting dust for five years and finally found some wall space for it. It was made for my dad by his grandmother - my great grandmother. I love having it and it looks so great hanging above the boys' toy chest. Here's how to hang your own quilt:

First choose a curtain rod. I decided that I didn't want the ends of mine showing beyond the edges of the quilt, but you could certainly get a fancier rod if you want it to show a bit. The heft of the rod will depend on the heaviness of your quilt. Because this is a fairly small and very light-weight quilt, I got a skinny aluminum (?) rod at Target that cost about $6.

Next you need to make your sleeve. Using any 100% cotton fabric that you have lying around, cut a long strip of fabric that is the length of the top of your quilt and the width of 2.5 times the width of your curtain rod. For example, if you have a 1 inch rod, cut your strip 2 1/2 inches wide. Carefully fold the long sides of the strip under (makings sure that the width of the folded strip is big enough to accomadate your curtain rod) and iron them, like so:

Flip your strip over and place it on the back of your quilt, a few inches below the top edge. Take care to make sure the strip is placed straight - if it is crooked, your quilt will hang crookedly and you will have to start over. Trim the ends of the sleeve so they end just a few inches inside the outside edges of the quilt. Pin the sleeve in place.

Now you are ready to sew. Thread an embroidery needle with two strands of thread, tie a knot at the end, and use a simple running stitch to attach the sleeve to the back of the quilt. Be sure not to poke the needle all the way through the quilt, otherwise your stitches will show up on the front of your quilt. Stitch along the two long ends of the sleeve, leaving the short ends open to push the curtain rod through.

Now you are ready to hang your quilt! Attach your mounting hardware to the wall, making sure everything is on the level, run the rod through your sleeve, and hang it up! Now you and everyone else can enjoy your quilt, and it can hang safely on the wall without getting stretched out of shape or having holes hammered into it. Enjoy!

Vintage

Here is a very small sampling of the fabrics I got from my Grandma. Pretty cute - definitely vintage colors and prints. I LOVE tiny floral prints, and there are so many of them! What makes these fabrics even better is that they've spent the last 30 years packed in cloves and lavender, so they smell heavenly.

Using some of my more modern fabrics, I'm working on a few little things for the shop. I got all the corners trimmed last night and today I get to flip them. I love flipping - you finally get to reveal all your hard work. I'll show the finished products in a few days.