Quilting

 Recently I began my first quilt.  I promised to make this quilt for my oldest son  Seamus many, many years ago!  As you can tell, I am a bit behind schedule.  While I have always wanted to learn to quilt, the process overwhelmed me, and I was too intimidated to begin.  However, last year my now 14 year old and I selected the fabrics, and recently I worked up the courage to begin.  Last weekend I finished cutting out all of the blocks!  It was so exciting!  Finally I am making progress.  I am looking forward to the actual sewing process and hoping a good friend of mine (hi Katy) will be willing to share her quilting knowledge as I go along.

Luckily Seamus simply wanted a block quilt, which is great for the beginner I am.  The color palette he chose is entirely boy--greens and browns, but I think the fabrics will work well together.  In the center Seamus asked for a larger block with the Irish blessing embroidered on it in Gaelic.

Go n-éirí an bóthar leat 

Go raibh an ghaoth go brách ag do chúl 

Go lonraí an ghrian go te ar d'aghaidh 

Go dtite an bháisteach go mín ar do pháirceanna 

Agus go mbuailimid le chéile arís, 

Go gcoinní Dia i mbos A láimhe thú.

I embroidered some as a child and enjoyed it, so I just need to freshen up on the stitches for that part.  I may make a pillowcase to match the center block when the quilt is finished.

Have you read any of Elizabeth Foss's posts on sewing?  I enjoy reading her posts at needle and thRead (and all of her posts actually).  She finds some of the most beautiful fabrics.  I think when I sew my daughters' quilts or even maybe some summer dresses for them, I will check out some of the websites she suggests for fabric.  We are very limited on fabric selection where I live.

I plan to update my progress as the quilt comes together.  If you have any suggestions or tips for quilting feel free to leave a comment.  I am definitely learning as I go along.