My First Real (non-rag) Quilt

So, after I made a few rag quilt I felt pretty confident I could make a real quilt. Complete with pieced top, batting, and backing. As my projects usually do, this one started off one way and turned into a whole other beast by the end. I had planned on only doing a jelly roll race quilt. (If you have never tried one of these, they are fun and come together very quickly) The center is jelly roll race. That was suppose to be the end of it. But.... my friend Jenn liked it so much, she wanted me to make her one. Since I couldn't find other fabric as awesome as this, I decided to add on to what I had already started.  I added dark brown to frame the center. Then added the wider blueish border. Framed that and added piano key border that. This quilt top fits a king size bed. Now I had to add batting and backing and then quilt it. Anyone who has ever made a quilt will tell you that making the quilt sandwich and basting, sucks.. It just does. There's lots of smoothing and pressing and crawling around on your knees. Not to mention the pins!  LOL But, with a little guidance from my mom, I figured it out. 

Now it's time to sew it all together. Did I mention, I did this too? No? Well, I did. All on my home machine. I still can't believe  I was that brave. Very first quilt, at least $150 in fabric, and I was ready to shove it all through my domestic machine. Truth is, I'm to cheap to send it out and have someone else quilt it. So, if I wanted it done, I was going to do it myself. Boy, am I glad I did!! I did all straight stitches in the seams, or stitch in the ditch, as it is also called. 

I am so proud of the way this turned out. It isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it turned out pretty good. And Jenn, she loves it! .