Modern Lap Quilt/My First Ever Real Quilt

This is the first quilt I ever made and designed! The quilt measures 41" x 50", just the right size for keeping your feet and legs warm. Since I had only somewhat of an idea of what I was doing, just the design process took a week. Lots of researching about quilt blocks, sketches, and triple checking quilt math.

Not only is there writing on the backs of these pages, I also wrote a lot out on a whiteboard, and typed some up in my computer.

I liked the idea of how a sampler quilt took many different quilt blocks and put them together neatly, but I also loved the simplicity of  just sewing together squares. Just cutting out big squares is also good to show off your fabric.

Eventually I figured out how to mix the two styles. Hence all my checklists for cutting out different square sizes.

 I used a total of five different block types. This was great for a beginner because I got to practice different techniques. Also, if I found I didn't enjoy making a block, I didn't have to make 20 more of that same block to complete the quilt.


My favorite of all the blocks is the double pinwheel. You can't see the two pinwheels because I ran out of the medium gray fat quarter and had to use a gray flower print for two of the large triangles. Oh well, at least the little pinwheel is visible.

In the center is the double pinwheel. On either side of the
pinwheel I put two shoofly variation  blocks.

This is where I put two identical 9 patch blocks beside each other. I am never doing that again, but it does look okay on this quilt.

I quilted cross-hatching in black thread all over this quilt. In the border I quilted straight lines a quarter inch from the edge. It was actually fun to sew straight lines over and over again!

Marking this quilt was a challenge. At first I tried using washable marking pencils, but they wouldn't write on the black fabric. After looking at different marking tools, including chalk, chalk wheels, washable ink pens, and darker pencils, I ended up trying some pens that disappeared with heat. You could just iron your quilt to erase! They worked great, and my quilt was marked and quilted about 3 days after getting the pens.

Those 3 days and all that struggling with the pencils in the beginning was worth it. Look at how the quilting shows up in the sunlight!

This picture was taken partially through the quilting process. See the basting pins?

The fabrics I were used were from a fat quarter bundle that included 14 fat quarters called Twilight Blooms. I didn't quite use up all 14 fat quarters. The border, backing, and some of the squares in the center I bought extra fabric for. Sadly, I cannot write a pattern for this quilt as I only halfway remember what I did, and my handwriting on my notes is terrible. Maybe I'll make a similar one sometime if I see a fabric bundle that would look good in that style of quilt. I love mixing quilt styles together to make something unique. Thanks for reading!