Building confidence on your quilting journey

I just finished the first quilt I've made completely with fabrics I designed.

Is it a work of art? Eh. I like it, but it's not going to win any awards and I can see things about the fabric/pattern interaction that I would do differently.

Specifically, even though I printed out paper copies of fabric patterns and cut them into the sizes of quilt pieces, it still looks different all put together IRL. And the colors aren't quite what was showing on my computer screen.

But I did it.

I've had this goal in my head for at least a couple of years.

I learned how to design fabric - I am so happy to know how to use Illustrator now!

You can order these on Spoonflower in all sorts of fabrics, household linens, etc.

I ordered fabrics to see what things look like printed on fabric and how different DPIs worked in terms of ink feel in the fabric.

I designed a tablerunner/wallhanging pattern specifically for the fabric and then designed extra blender fabrics for the pattern - and learned how to use InDesign to create a pattern because it makes a great beginner project (pattern coming soon).

And so it's on my wall.

Yes, in July.

I don't care. Because I need to look at it and remind myself that I accomplished something.

It's a good reminder to me that the end result is not always the best indicator of progress. The skills I've learned are far more impressive than this quilt.

BTW - that's what happens if you've never made a quilt and you take my beginner quilting course. Sure, the project is a simple tablerunner, but when you've finished you've learned everything you need to know to follow so many other patterns!

What quilts have you made that challenged you in ways that aren't obvious?

Share with me - because writing down what you've accomplished helps you see how amazing you are!

My next step (by next email?) is to create YouTube videos that cover things in this pattern that might not be obvious to a beginner, like subcutting instructions. I want my patterns to have guidance ready and waiting so no one ever gets stuck :)

P.S. I'm really slowly working on quilting the green quilt. I usually have a whole quilting plan before I start (sometimes even before it's pieced), but this time I decided to try 'winging' it. I'm not good at winging it LOL

It's been a bear coming up with quilting designs. This is me playing on the iPad trying to decide what to do next...

When I visited my Dad last, he gave me some embroidered blocks that he'd found in my mother's stuff. We know who she was thinking of, so I'm now charged with turning them into a small quilt to send off. So far, I've pulled a bunch of fabrics from her stash. I'm looking forward to getting the graph paper out!