Adventures In Quilting

I am starting to make a quilt for my daughter out of her old clothes.  My mother-in-law would buy her dozens of dresses every season, making my daughter one of the more fashionably dressed preschoolers and grade schoolers around.  My mother-in-law is also a master shopper -- shopping clearances, sales, using coupons and points.  She is the queen of the deal, and my daughter reaped the rewards.  While I love a deal, I am not a big fan of shopping.  For my mother-in-law, shopping is a sport.  My daughter loved the clothes, I was spared the agony of going to the mall or spending hours online and my mother-in-law indulged in her favorite pastime, making this a win-win-win situation.

I gave most of my daughter's clothes away as she outgrew them, but I held some back.  I imagined a day when I might take an adorable pink frock with a blue stain in the middle and use the rest as part of a quilt.  I feel the day upon me.  Over winter break, I dug through the basement and her closet to find the raw materials.

Step 1 -- Find material.  Done.  Okay.  Now what?

I made a t-shirt quilt for my son this past spring.  That was relatively easy and I hacked through it.  I made each t-shirt a square or a rectangle, and sewed them together.  Not too complicated and it didn't take too much planning.

This project, I am terrified to start.  Back when I used to work in my suit job in the Sears Tower, my boss took several of us out to lunch.  She admitted that she subscribed to Martha Stewart's Living magazine to see how the other half lived.  I let her go on for a few minutes before I confessed that I subscribed, too.  I liked looking into this other world where people had time to make their own soap, arrange flowers and collect antique china.  (I don't subscribe any more.  Maybe I should renew?)  I am sure Martha had articles on how to take your daughter's baby clothes and make a quilt.

Making a quilt falls into the category of things I would like to be good at but really can't see it happening.  I've bought books on quilting, but they fall into the category of craft porn, much like its related cousin, food porn.  The projects in "Sunday Morning Quilts" by Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison range from amazing to stunning to gorgeous.  (Here is her blog:  http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/) It is just not fair to a novice like me to aspire to such magnificent creations.  And there are so many patterns and designs to choose from.  The t-shirt quilt was a no brainer.  Cut the t-shirts up, make a grid, mix them them by color and size, then sew.  The choices for a regular quilt are infinite, but the fabric from my daughter's childhood is not.

And actually, I haven't really finished Step 1:  Find material.  I have plenty of dresses, but there comes a question:  Should I have clothes that could still be worn by some other child and make a blanket?  The stained and torn clothes are easy -- no one else would want them.  Thrift shops want clothes in wearable condition.  And what about the stained silk dress my daughter wore when she was a flower girl in my sister-in-law's wedding?  Should I save the dress for sentimental reasons, or chop it up for a blanket?  Oy.

Now I have fabric fever and love looking at interesting prints and designs.  I saw my neighbor's toddler wearing a white and pastel polka dotted footy pajamas.  I was tempted to ask for them when her daughter out grew them, but I held back.  I am tempted to hit the thrift shops to find old clothes for this project in case I need to fill in some gaps.

(To be continued...)