Trixie Mother's Quilt

It's the start of another school year, which is always bittersweet for me. It feels good to be back in the classroom teaching. I'm convinced my high school students are glad to be back in the classroom too even though they don't always admit it...they need routine and normalcy just as much as my little ones at home. But the start of a new school year also reminds me of how quickly the years are passing by, especially with my daughther's birthday falling at back to school time. She turned eight this year, and I knew I wanted to gift her with a special quilt. She loves cats, so as soon as I came across the "Mother's Quilt" pattern by Heather Ross, I knew it was the perfect quilt for her.

The adorable Trixie fabric is one of my faves from Heather Ross and it's been in my stash for quite some time. The little mice are just the sweetest. Mice on a cat quilt is kind of ironic...but my daugther didn't seem to notice the irony!

I used Kona Cotton in Natural for the background, and I love the added illusion of texture it gives to the quilt. It's hard to see in pitures, but it has little flecks in it that give it a natural, unbleached look, which is exactly the look I wanted for this quilt. For the backing I used a Gingham Plaid print from the Malibu line by Heather Ross. I really stretched my comfort zone with this quilt and tried some new things I've never done before. I used a cross hatch quilting design for the first time, and I love it so much I want to use it for all my quilts. It was easier than I expected...I used a ruler and hera marker to mark the first line, and then I used painter's tape along with the edge of my dual feed walking foot for the rest of the lines. It was a little time consuming, but totally worth it.

I also tried hand embroidery for the first time, which I was so nervous about...I've never done any kind of hand stitching before. But I'm so happy with the way the cat's face turned out. It's definitely inspired me to try more hand embroidery in the future. And I tried a hand stitched chunky binding for the first time, which I've been wanting to learn for awhile! It was a lot easier than I anticipated. I watched a tutorial on Southern Charm Quilts Blog, which I've linked if you're interested...her tutorials are easy to follow and her teaching style makes learning new skills so approachable and not intimidating. I spent each evening on the couch for one week working on the binding and it honestly was the most relaxing way to end my day...I foresee more slow stiching in my future as well.

I also added a few other embroidered details by machine...my daughter's first initial, and the names of her cats (the originals anyway)...we've had a few kittens since. :)

My daughter and I had the best time with this photo shoot! We shot all of these pictures in a time span of about 20 minutes...right before it poured rain. You'd never know from the pictures that there was a storm brewing!

This quilt was an extra special one for many reasons, but the joy on my daugther's face when I gifted it to her was priceless. She's been sleeping with it every since. I even made her the little Thomas mouse and mini quilt from the Trixie panel I had in my stash. It was a good learning experience...even if I mostly learned that stuffed animals are not my thing and I should stick to quilts :). Those tiny pieces were not easy to sew together, but my daugther loves her Thomas mouse and tucks him in beside her each night with his little quilt, so the time and frustration making him was worth it.