HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVE

I’m not sure when I came up with the idea to make Mic a quilt, I've always wanted to but never got around to it. I remember like a year ago wanting to make a quilt out of his old t-shirts (that he loved but were too small). He gave me a pile of them, but it ended up being only like 9 or 10 shirts and all the t-shirt quilts I’d seen online required way more than that.

Then I decided instead of a t-shirt quilt I would make a flannel rag quilt. They looked simple enough. So I started looking for flannel fabric. However, for some reason the vast majority of flannel fabric is baby themed. I shopped  a ton!

Since I’d never made a quilt before I wasn’t exactly sure how much fabric I needed, or how big to make it. I think the hardest part of the whole thing was deciding on measurements. I kept researching it and if the whole thing hadn’t been a surprise I would’ve just asked my math genius husband to tell me how many yards of each fabric I’d need for my 10 inch squares, and how big of a quilt to make in the first place. But since the whole thing was a surprise I just more or less “winged it”.

I found 4 different patterns for the front, and then one solid red one for the back of the quilt. Sometime after I’d found the fabric I liked, I decided I’d also cut up those t-shirts as well and incorporate them into the quilt.

I measured & rip/cut the fabric into 10 inch squares, and the batting a few inches smaller, so when it was sandwiched between the two squares it wouldn’t show through the rag/frayed part. I did all the cutting while Mic was in class one Wednesday evening. That same evening I went over to my mom’s for a couple hours to use her sewing machine to start sewing the individual squares (a X in the square - front/back/batting together). I got probably 2/3 of the squares all X’d that night.

Then Sunday at noon I went back to my mom’s and started sewing some more. Laura came over with her sewing machine and helped me. Thank goodness! I had to finish it that day because I worked the rest of the week and Mic’s birthday was on Friday. 5 hours later we had the whole thing done! And it turned out HUGE.

All the quilting websites suggested taking the quilt to a Laundromat to be washed the first time because it would have a lot of lint and you don’t want it blowing up your dryer. So Valentine’s evening Mic worked all afternoon/until 9:30pm so I decided I’d go to the Laundromat that day, I’d never been to a Laundromat ever- which I’m sure was pretty evident to the few other people there. First I couldn’t decide on which machine to use (there were multiple sizes and I didn’t know if my quilt qualified as a medium, large or extralarge load. Then I couldn’t figure out where to add the detergent. But alas I figured the whole thing out.

I brought the finished quilt home and hid it in my bottom dresser drawer.

The day of Mic’s birthday we went over to his parent’s house for dinner and I’d decided I would give him the quilt then.  I think he was way surprised when he saw it, and I hope he loves it as much as I do. I have no idea how I kept the whole thing a secret. I’m the worst at keeping secrets/throwing surprises. There were so many times that I wanted to tell him or show him the quilt or the fabric for it after I bought it.

And for someone who doesn’t even know how to sew on a button, let alone sew an entire quilt I’m pretty impressed with how it turned out, and how quickly I was able to make it. I’d guess that its queen size because it takes up our whole bed. Really I just wanted a blanket we could snuggle under on the couch while we are watching movies.

Ps my only regrets/things I’d do differently if I ever attempt to make another quilt is: I’d be more meticulous about measuring out the squares so they are all the exact same size and make sandwiching them together easier. And also, I would use a newer sewing machine.  Using my mom’s ancient one that she got as a high school graduation gift made things a lot harder then it needed to be. Oh and lastly, I wouldn’t have planned on pulling the whole thing off in two days. 

Some of the fabric I'd picked out

All the squares

Sophie and the batting squares

the X'd squares

Soph was a big help ;)

All the squares laid out so I could decide how I wanted the finished product to look.

Laura with her new machine helping me sew my squares together.

The finished quilt before it got washed/frayed edges 

Another view on my bed. Its not going on the bed, but I wanted to take a picture that would show the whole thing

Us with the quilt right after I gave it to him. 

At his parents house with his new birthday quilt

Us at Mic's parents, watching a movie.

Jack approves.

Found Soph sleeping on it too.