Nathan's Quilt

So I finished Nathan's quilt yesterday.

This thing was such a learning experience.  And it shows :)  I made about a bajillion mistakes.  There are certain details that I hope you won't notice that are TERRIBLE (so don't look at the pics full size)!  There are other things that I am just thrilled with, like the pirate ship.













The treasure chest is probably the single item that took the longest, I don't know if you can see it, but the treasure is puffy (technical term) and embroidered.  Nathan LOVES the treasure chest!

I learned a lot about my sewing machine, about thread tension, about sewing faster than I ought!  I learned that next time, I will probably do the quilting by hand, even though it will take fifty times longer (and after I do that, I'm sure I will commit to always using the machine).

I love these fabrics.  The pirates are a little bit terrifying.  I tried to talk my then-four year old out of it, but he's not scared, Mama!  He insisted on the checkered fabric, so that was a little bit of a challenge to work in, but I'm really happy with how it came together.  The stripes were my "inspiration fabric", the one I used to choose all the rest.

I learned that when I ask my husband for his advice and he starts a sentence with, "I don't know if it's too late to do this, but..." well, YES.  YES, IT IS TOO LATE!  Now thank you for letting me know you don't like how I did that!

I learned how to sew mitered corners, applique by machine (another thing I'll do by hand next time),  and that quilting a twin size blanket takes a lot of strength!

I'm beginning to prepare my heart for the day when he's 25 and comes to tell me that his bride-to-be does not love pirates quite as much as he does, and I'm forced to put away this symbol of my devotion to foist on his future children.

Just kidding... sort of.