I’ve been bitten by the quilting bug these days.  I’m not a very experienced quilter; I can count the number of quilts I’ve sewn, in my life, on one hand.  I do enjoy the process of seeing bits of fabric turn into beautiful works of art and family heirlooms.  I’ve also started reading the blog, Red Pepper Quilts, and am inspired!

A good friend adopted a baby girl almost two years ago.  I’m so happy for my friend as this was a long process, filled with ups and downs.  It’s so wonderful to see this family together and happy.   The baby, who’s not really a baby anymore, is going to get a big girl bed soon and I wanted to do something special for both my friend and the baby, so I’m going to sew a quilt for the new bed.  I am VERY excited about making this quilt.  But I am also agonizing over it.  I want it to be near perfect and loved and cheerful…

I started to second guess myself.  I’ve been doing that a lot lately. Like yesterday, when I called my mom in a dither about using white fabric when I think the walls in the room are cream.   (Mom says you can’t go wrong with white.)  Today, I sent my friend a near frantic email:  You have two choices for fabric. funky/whimsical (as shown above) or girly/floral.  My original instinct, knowing my friend, was funky and that’s what she chose.   I can incorporate some of the florals in with the funky/whimsical, but it wouldn’t really have worked the other way around.  In addition to the fabric, I’ve been obsessing about what kind of pattern to use.  Last week, I decided to do something based on this beautiful quilt.   Two nights ago, I browsed quilt photos on flickr and started reconsidering my pattern.  I’m loving the triangles.  And then there’s this tutorial.

After some calming breaths (and a discussion with Mom), I’ve decided to stick with the squares.  I think it will work best with the fabrics I’ve chosen and is more suited to my experience level. I’ve been prewashing my fabrics and am ready to start cutting fabric!!  The fun begins.