During my last Christmas Holiday while I was in Montreal- I did my bachelors degree there- I decided to start a quilting project. I did not know what to expect with this project; it was my first. I took everything a step by step. I watched lots and lots of Youtube videos, I read instructions by quilters and I just decided to start.

Once the holiday started, I went to DeSerres, a local arts and crafts store. I probably spent a good half hour to an hour staring at the miniature fabric collection they had. They were pre-cut fabrics around 40 cm* 40 cm. I wanted bright colors rather than the typical dull colors of classic quilts. I absolutely love matching colors and patterns together so that was really fun. I have to admit that here in Bahrain I miss that experience as the textile collection is not much to my taste. Thus, I’m forced to choose my fabric from a laptop screen which is not the same experience at all! When I finally matched the fabrics together, I went to the cashier and bought them! I was sooo excited to start my quilt.

In the summer prior to that when I was home, I had bought basic patchwork plastic templates. I used a square patchwork template to trace the fabric for exact measurements as well as for seam allowance. I was a student then and I did not afford buying all the fancy tools for quilting such as a rotary cutter, a cutting mat, rulers, etc. I, therefore, spent the holiday tracing, cutting, and hand sewing pieces together. Soon the holiday was over and I was back on study mode.

The summer after, I graduated and came back home. I eventually went back to my project. I sewed the top all together. I bought solid fabric to make it a twin sized quilt for my bed. I basted the quilt and soon after I started hand-quilting it! I am still hand-quilting the quilt. I work on it on and off. I have to say hand quilting takes a lot of time!! Whenever, I have some time to spare, I take the quilt out and work on it. It is one of those long projects that I cannot wait to see done!
A little note for you my readers, to start a project, don’t be taken away by all the ‘basic’ tools that are listed online or in books. There are many ways to go about it. Had I stopped at the fact that I do not have a rotary cutter, a cutting mat, and a ruler.. I would never have done this quilt at that time. Yes, now that I do own these tools, they actually do make your life wayyy easier, but everything has it’s own fun and taste!

Please share with me your quilting projects on Instagram #myblossomedchaos

Fatema xoxo