You may remember I mentioned I was working on a quilt block recently,
or that one of my goals this year was to make a quilt.
Well, I’m working towards it and wanted to share my progress,
as well as what I’ve learned so far (which is a lot!).

After I got a new sewing machine for Christmas from my awesome hubster,
my friend Sally thought it’d be fun to do an online class to make a quilt.
The beautiful thing about this class (besides the fact that it’s free!) is
that you do two squares a month and by the end of the year, you have a quilt.
I figured it was definitely manageable and a realistic way to make a quilt this year,
especially considering I have NO IDEA what I’m doing.
Sally, Lindsey, and I enrolled in the Craftsy Block of the Month 2012 class.
This is the class from last year, so all of the monthly videos are already posted,
so I could start working ahead, but ain’t no body got time for that.

January

My first block was kind of rough (left). The second one was slightly better, but not by much.
The biggest thing I learned this month was to press to the dark.
Yes, I realize that seems so simple, but I didn’t know it.
You can tell that I pressed to the white on the first block because my white fabric is sheer enough.
I also learned that you are just using your iron to press, not actually ironing (back and forth).
Overall, I wasn’t too upset with the blocks this month. I know they aren’t perfect, and that’s ok.

February

These blocks were a little more time consuming and complicated, but I liked doing them.
The videos for the course are so easy to follow along with, which make it so much better.
I love the chunky chevron on the right, it’s so fun!
Sally did her squares before me this month, and made sure I knew about a scant quarter inch,
which of course, I did not. I also learned more about my machine this month.
No joke, I realized that there is a handy little thread cutter actually ON THE MACHINE.
Who knew? (Obviously, not me. Ha!).

March

While these may have looked like the hardest blocks thus far, they actually were just the opposite!
There really was no rhyme or reason to the size of the scrap fabric or pattern,
so I was just grabbing strands, sewing, and pressing.
I was pretty impressed with how they turned out.
It’s amazing how much easier sewing is when you know about seam allowance,
and where you should be looking on your machine when you’re sewing.

I’m excited about the quilt so far, and we’re only six squares in.
Another plus is that I haven’t had to buy any fabric because I am using all the fabric from Kenley’s weekly photo project,
so it’s going to be a wide array of colors and patterns, but I think that will make it fun.
So far, this is the most intensive project I’ve attempted,
much more difficult than burp cloths, birthday party bunting, and crib sheets,
but I know it’s not going to be perfect, and I’m learning as we go.
I definitely couldn’t do it without the Craftsy class and my crafty friends!