My First "Quilt"

I've been feeling guilty about neglecting my awesome new-ish sewing machine.  When I first got it, I went crazy sewing a cover for it, then a little purse for the kid of one of my coworkers.  Since then, the only time I touched it was during our move, and it's been gathering dust ever since (not really because of the awesome cover I made, but you know what I mean, haha!).

Anyway, when we were in Alaska we did an inordinate amount of "shopping" - wandering around in all the touristy little shops filled with crap no one needs.  Including really old walrus penises, a bargain at $50 a piece!  L. O. L.  There were a couple cool stores though, the kind that real Alaskans probably go to, I think?  Haha.  We found one of them on our way to use the bathroom on the third floor of a mini mall - a sweet little fabric store!  The perfect way to force myself back into sewing :)  So I found one of those star of David fabric bundles, with a cool humpback whale print on it.

When we got home I was trying to decide what to make with these 5 relatively small bits of fabric, and I finally landed on this page via Pinterest - a baby quilt/blanket!  So I decided to make 2 - one for Bryan's cousin's little baby Penelope, and the soon-to-be daughter of my coworker, currently nicknamed George (haha).  What to make: done.  Who to make it for: done.  On to the next challenge: find the rest of the fabric I would need.  This is harder than you might imagine, thanks to the general snootiness of Santa Barbara.  The only fabric stores we have are insanely expensive, and the closest JoAnns is an hour away in Ventura.  After a bit of exploration on Yelp, I learned about Roxanne's, the cutest little fabric store in Carpinteria, only half hour away!  This is my new favorite place for when I'm feeling crafty...

Bryan and I ventured down there, I found exactly what I needed, and I could finally start my project!  The quilting itself was a bit of an adventure, and I technically didn't even do any "real" quilting - the kind where you sew pretty little stitches all over the fabric.  I was way too scared to try that.  I learned how to really use an iron for the first time ever (lol) and had a few minor and major battles with my sewing machine... but in the end, I was pretty happy with the result!  Here's the first one... now on to the next :)