I Finished My Second Quilt

I was so excited to finish my first-ever quilt and I am just as excited about my second quilt! 

I didn't select the fabrics for my first quilt. I'd volunteered to take a pile of donated fabrics home to cut into squares and eventually had the courage to sew them together. I asked the experts in our group to teach me each skill as I went, since I was learning to sew as I was learning to quilt. I struggled and made a lot of mistakes but I'm really proud of that first quilt. 

For this second quilt, I had full control over everything. I started with six pre-cut blocks from our big stash, then picked other fabrics to go with them. I put the top together much faster (and with far less seam-ripping) than last time, despite having to piece more blocks together. While very few of my corners lined up last time, most of them do on this quilt. I was able to do all the steps without asking for advice. Binding was still the trickiest part for me, but even that went better this time. It's exciting to see how much my skills have improved from my first quilt to my second. I still have a lot of basics to master, but that will come with practice. I'm eager to get started on my third quilt! 

As a reminder, all of the quilts that the St. Mark's Quilters make go to Lutheran World Relief, which passes them on to people around the world following natural disaster or war. We accept donations of fabric, batting, and thread, as well as monetary donations to pay for shipping the quilts. Each quilt costs about $4 to get to people in need. The quilt I just finished is our 41st quilt of the year. We hope to finish a lot more, so shipping costs will add up. 

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I photographed the quilt on our dining room table, which is part of the bunny territory. This might be obvious from the bunny toys and open box of hay that are visible in the first picture. It's definitely obvious in this photo, with visible pens and litterboxes. 

Did you spot Tulip, checking out the chair? Bunnies are ridiculously curious, which meant that the second I moved the front chair away from the table, Tulip ran over to check it out. Even though it's the same chair she regularly naps on, somehow it's different and needs a full inspection. Silly bunny!