My First Quilt – Part 1

Pattern: Triple “b” (Bini’s Beginner Blocks) Courtesy of bini designs.

My husband gave me a sewing machine for Christmas because I really want to learn how to sew. So, my friends and I signed up for a quilting class at Snappy Quilts. To the right is the pattern and I decided on the lap size quilt (58″ x 76″).

Before class, we were to pick out our fabric.  That in itself was quite a daunting task.  There are so many amazing fabric choices out there and it can be overwhelming (especially for a first-timer).  I thought I had come up with the perfect color scheme and $127 later, I had my fabric (yes, quilting is expensive)! The first class focused on going over our fabric choices (I had to make some modifications and buy MORE fabric…), cutting, and learning how to master the 1/4″ seam.

My homework for tomorrow’s class is done and here is what I got going on:

Top two rows of my quilt laid out.

Class two is tomorrow and we’re going to work on the pinwheels (I just folded the fabric in my photo above so I could get an idea of what my quilt will look like).  I’m assuming we are also going to start sewing our blocks together.

What I’ve learned from quilting so far is that it’s definitely bringing out my “type A” personality…  I don’t know why but I’ve been getting nervous for class. Wish me luck tomorrow!

xoxo,

Katie

Easter Egg Coloring!

Today I took a stab at coloring Easter eggs with Charlie.  It was a beautiful day so we took our decorating party outside.

I lined a rimmed baking sheet with a paper towel. This made it easy to carry everything outside and also helped minimize the mess. But let’s be honest….I ended up doing most of the decorating!

Boiling the eggs

I start by placing my eggs in a pot and cover the eggs with cold water.  I bring them to a boil and let them boil for 10 minutes or so.  I then drain the hot water, place the eggs in a bowl and into the fridge they go!  Once the eggs are cooled, let the decorating begin!

We used a Paas Deluxe Decorating Kit.  I didn’t need a deluxe kit but that was all I saw when I was at the store.

Indside the kit

• Color-dye tablets
• Two egg dippers
• Stickers
• Glitter
• Magic Crayon
• Eggarounds
• Egg stands
• Drying tray (back of box)

What we used out of the kit

• Color-dye tablets (green, blue and orange)
• Magic Crayon (on one egg, just to try it)
• Drying tray

We kept our decorating pretty simple since Charlie is only one and a half!

Decorating the eggs

According to the Paas package directions:

• Put one tablet into a cup/bowl
• Add 1 Tbsp of vinegar
• Add 1/2 cup of room temperature water
• Bend egg dipper and dip egg into dye (I always just use a spoon…)
• More time in the dye = a darker color
• Remove and place in drying tray

Instructions on how to use all the fancy-shmancy decorative tools are also explained on the back of the Paas Decorating Kit Box or you can visit their website here.

How did we do?

xoxo,

Katie