My Joy of Sewing Is Returning
My word for me today is "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).
With all that was going on last month sewing became a chore when normally it is a stress relief. I forced myself to sew because there were items I needed to get done but there was no joy in it and because of that I did not do my best work.
When I started this blanket my sewing joy was gone - I was doing it because I promised I would get one made. By the time I finished I could feel my sewing joy level steadily rising.
I knew I could not go with the traditional colors or the baby prints because they were too boring and I would never complete the quilt. I had to choose colors that excited and inspired me to sew.
The brighter and more vibrant the color the more I like it. I don't ask parents what color they want I ask would they mind if I made their baby a blanket. By asking this question I get to choose colors that inspire me.
I absolutely love batiks and when I go to a quilt store most of the time I never make it beyond the batik section. Probably 90% of my quilting stash is batiks.
The pattern is call "Sweet Baby Quilt" from the book Sew Special Fat Quarter Gifts. The embroidery designs are from Bunnycup Embroidery (a couple different design sets)
The embroidery designs are not as cohesive as I like them. Initially the plan was to use some trains designs that I got for free. The digitizing was horrible with the train designs so I deleted those designs from my computer (lest I forget and use them again).
I quickly picked a couple different designs from Bunnycup Embroidery to complete the quilt. One of these days I will learn how to get the lighting correct so the colors come out right. The red is really a vibrant orange.
I decided I would use my embroidery software (Creative Drawings Pro) and cuddle fleece (for some texture) to create appliqued letters (the baby's initials). By the time I had made it to the letter "Z" I finally got it right. It didn't bother me that the other letters weren't "perfect". I think my "Z" is upside down but I am not sure. Again any thing that looks red is really a vibrant orange.
I always add the baby's name and birthday if I have it. I try not to make the blanket until after the baby is born.
For my stippling I normally use a 30wt Sulky Cotton Blendable thread but I used a 12wt Sulky Cotton Blendable which proved to be problematic initially because of user error. I was using a 90/14 topstitch needle and my thread kept breaking at the needle. After the thread broke for the 10th time it finally occurred to me that I needed to try a 100/16 topstitch needle. That solved the issue.
I used the same thread and one of the many decorative stitches on Josephine to do the binding.
The finished top.
The finished back.
My sewing joy level is on the rise - yay!
With all that was going on last month sewing became a chore when normally it is a stress relief. I forced myself to sew because there were items I needed to get done but there was no joy in it and because of that I did not do my best work.
When I started this blanket my sewing joy was gone - I was doing it because I promised I would get one made. By the time I finished I could feel my sewing joy level steadily rising.
I knew I could not go with the traditional colors or the baby prints because they were too boring and I would never complete the quilt. I had to choose colors that excited and inspired me to sew.
The brighter and more vibrant the color the more I like it. I don't ask parents what color they want I ask would they mind if I made their baby a blanket. By asking this question I get to choose colors that inspire me.
I absolutely love batiks and when I go to a quilt store most of the time I never make it beyond the batik section. Probably 90% of my quilting stash is batiks.
How I Did It
The pattern is call "Sweet Baby Quilt" from the book Sew Special Fat Quarter Gifts. The embroidery designs are from Bunnycup Embroidery (a couple different design sets)
The embroidery designs are not as cohesive as I like them. Initially the plan was to use some trains designs that I got for free. The digitizing was horrible with the train designs so I deleted those designs from my computer (lest I forget and use them again).
I quickly picked a couple different designs from Bunnycup Embroidery to complete the quilt. One of these days I will learn how to get the lighting correct so the colors come out right. The red is really a vibrant orange.
I decided I would use my embroidery software (Creative Drawings Pro) and cuddle fleece (for some texture) to create appliqued letters (the baby's initials). By the time I had made it to the letter "Z" I finally got it right. It didn't bother me that the other letters weren't "perfect". I think my "Z" is upside down but I am not sure. Again any thing that looks red is really a vibrant orange.
I always add the baby's name and birthday if I have it. I try not to make the blanket until after the baby is born.
For my stippling I normally use a 30wt Sulky Cotton Blendable thread but I used a 12wt Sulky Cotton Blendable which proved to be problematic initially because of user error. I was using a 90/14 topstitch needle and my thread kept breaking at the needle. After the thread broke for the 10th time it finally occurred to me that I needed to try a 100/16 topstitch needle. That solved the issue.
I used the same thread and one of the many decorative stitches on Josephine to do the binding.
The finished top.
The finished back.
My sewing joy level is on the rise - yay!
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