Friends, I MADE a quilt!
It all started when our friend, Michelle, was making a quilt for a family member as a Christmas gift. When it was done and I saw the picture, I felt inspired and asked Steven what he thought about us making one together! I had practical reasons (it would take up less space than our current bulky comforter) and fun reasons (how cool to do a sewing project together?!) for making a quilt, but he wasn’t into it.
“Quilts aren’t comfortable.”
Challenge. Accepted.
I decided that I was going to prove him wrong and make him a quilt that IS comfortable and that he would like having on our bed! So, I used my PowerSheets and dove right in.
Y’all, this project has been in the making for SIXTEEN MONTHS. 16! I tried to be incredibly realistic with my time and the fact that I had zero experience with sewing (outside of a few headbands I made once for me and Lily) and so I estimated that it would take me nine months. I broke it waaaay down into baby steps that looked something like this:
Month one: Find an online tutorial for making a quilt.
Month two: Determine how much fabric I needed.
Month three: Purchase fabrics.
And so on! The first few months went super well and I was feeling great! Then we decided to move, so I didn’t want to cut out over 280 something squares and have to keep it all together in the move, so I waited. But hot damn, cutting the fabrics is the HARDEST and most time consuming step! It took me literal months to cut out all the fabric squares I needed, especially with a crazy wedding season thrown into the mix. I think I only finished cutting them out in December of 2018, so I really didn’t even start sewing until January 2019!
Also, the tutorial I watched didn’t really stress the importance of making sure that EVERY square was EXACTLY the same size. So that gave me some issues, but it’s okay. I wasn’t setting out to make the perfect quilt. I was setting out to make a quilt that was mine, that I had made, and was comfortable!
Once I started sewing it went really quickly. I loved being able to use our antique Singer sewing machine to piece the rows together. I made a blanket that was larger than a queen size, but smaller than a king (that ends up being an entirely different story, haha) so it was really tricky and heavy to manage all that material! But I was loving how it was looking!
Then we purchased the backing and I didn’t realize just how hard it would be to sew because it kept snagging on the presser foot. Thank goodness for Steven because he is the one who sewed the two back pieces together so that I had enough for the entire back of the quilt! Steven was really valuable in this whole process because he was a professional stitcher and knows a LOT about sewing!
Well, my friends, on my birthday, I FINALLY finished the quilt! I can’t believe it! I MADE A QUILT!!! I’m absolutely in love with how it turned out and I love having it on my bed! Now I’m not sure what to do with that time I used to have! haha. Anyway, here are some photos (because in my powersheets, this is how I was going to celebrate the final product, by blogging about it!) of the process, including a super cute video of Lily helping me at the end!
That moment when I realized I was going to have to re-do something when allll I wanted to do was be done! 
Linda is a Portland-based photographer specializing in weddings and creating family legacies from Portland to Boston and across New England. You can see more of her work online at lindabarryphotography.com, on Instagram, or on Facebook. If you want to reach out directly: linda@lindabarryphotography.com.
Linda is a Portland-based photographer specializing in weddings and creating family legacies from Portland to Boston and across New England. You can see more of her work online at lindabarryphotography.com, on Instagram, or on Facebook. If you want to reach out directly: linda@lindabarryphotography.com.
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