I don't know why I should fear the quilting foot, but I do. Or did, I should say.
I put off quilting the layers of Maia's hand quilt for such a ridiculously long time that I'm embarrassed to even post about this project. This is a quilt I started when I was pregnant with Maia -- over four years ago! Ack! I probably should have made a nice baby-sized quilt as my first quilting project, but no, I had to tackle a large one (it's twin-sized or a bit larger). And since I didn't have the quilting skills or confidence for such a big project, I did just a little bit at a time. A spurt of energy and enthusiasm about once a year and here we are four years later, almost finished.
I finally got out the quilting foot, studied the diagram and figured out how to attach it to my sewing machine -- and of course it wasn't that hard. And using it wasn't any harder than using a regular foot. So all that fuss and stalling was for nothing. I did the quilting in a day. I decided to go easy on myself and keep it simple (no, I didn't stitch around each hand).
I still have to bind the edges but am determined to do that very soon. I need to finish my first baby's quilt before the next baby arrives! And since I did something special for Maia, I feel I should make a special quilt (although maybe smaller!) for this baby. Any ideas? I haven't come up with any good ideas myself and it's something I should probably start working on, especially if I want it finished before baby number two turns four.
Oh, and while I was on a quilting spree this weekend I made this simple quilt for the baby with recycled materials, flannel on one side and a cotton floral print on the other. I used a thrifted cotton mattress pad as the inside layer so it's pretty thick. I'll probably use it as a floor blanket, although Maia's already asked if she can share it with the baby, so it might double as a lap quilt this winter.
