Vintage Sheet Quilt, part 1!

I've been collecting vintage linens at yard sales and thrift shops since early last summer, hoping that someday I'd have the time to make a pretty quilt from them. It's hard to make time to commit to such large projects these days as my sweet little girl is now in her "MAMA MAMA MAMA" phase :) On a whim I pulled them out last week and started cutting squares. These sheets are so very large, it's impossible to measure them out and cut in bulk, so I cut each one using my square templates. I felt like maybe this was a little amateur-ish of me, but after reading that Miss Sparkle Power herself cuts her squares by hand ;) I knew it was okay to cut each square individually. I've never had anyone teach me how to do these things so I'm always worried if I'm doing it right or not! I ended up with 100 4.5" squares, and while my Belle was asleep this week I arranged my squares, sewed them all up, did lots and lots of ironing, lots of bobbin winding, lots of pinning, and finished the quilt top!

Does anybody else use sticky notes to help keep things straight and organized while quilting? My memory is so terrible and since becoming a mommy I've also become quite scatterbrained, I don't know what I'd do without my heart sticky notes. I use them to help me keep track of rows, measurements, fabric direction, etc. LOVE them. Just make sure you don't sew over your notes. oops! :)

I taped a big sheet to the floor (remember to sweep first!) ;) and used some white flannel as my batting (I heard that it's a nice way to make a lightweight quilt, but again, I'm not sure if this is what the "pros" do) :) with help from my hubby I got the quilt top on and everything appeared straight, so I held my breath and started pinning. I started using safety pins but then I ran out. I would have gone to get more but I was trying to finish this during a naptime, so I just grabbed my pins and used them to finish the rest. No project of mine is complete without blood. My right thumb was the victim this time. I pinned every square, some of them twice, so that's over 100 pins. Only one injury is pretty good, right!? ;) Once everything appeared pinned and in place, I drew lines using my little pink ruler and purple quilting pen and started stitching away. Stuffing a 40 inch by 40 inch 3 layered blanket through my machine was a booger, and there's another lesson to learn here: clean your workspace first!... it's so pretty to have a cluttered desk, but it's not very practical at all. Let's just say the quilt made room for itself by pushing everything else on the floor, including a little box of pins. Oops...

(My husband got me this Lalaloopsy doll for Christmas and she happily sits on my desk... unless I'm sewing. and then she's hangs out on the floor.)

Part 2 to come soon. :) Naptimes last for only so long, you know! What fun would it be if my chicky slept for long enough for me to finish a quilt?!... :)