I had this great plan for Christmas to only give the kids homemade gifts. I was going to make three quilts…one for each of my kids. I am now questioning this epic plan. I think I have bit off way more than I can chew. I think I could probably pull off three quilt tops but the actual quilting on my little basic machine might be too much.

The plan was to make each of them a quilt based on their Hogwarts House. My son is a Ravenclaw so the accent colour is a darker blue (maybe between royal and navy blue). The fat quarters for the patterned fabric came from Aldi. They are really very good quality fabric which I didn’t expect from Aldi. The blue I got from a market trader and it is very thin. I wouldn’t buy that again but you live and learn.

I don’t think I got enough of the accent colours for each quilt so I think I will just use what I need for the top and get some sheets (thrifted maybe) for the backs. I will think about batting/wadding later when the thought of actually quilting it doesn’t break me out in hives.

I was planning on doing this quilt with three narrow strips making a 6 inch block and put them together in alternating directions into a bigger 12 x 12 inch block but I panicked when trying to figure out my layout and switch3 to a ladder effect. I was planning to do quilt as you go but it isn’t coming out right as I seem to have mis-measured some of the blue strips so some blocks are bigger than others. I am thinking my lack of detail and planning is working against me.

When I tried to lay two of these blocks (already quilted within the blocks) the lengths of the blocks differed by about half a strip. I admit I quit at that point as I just didn’t know what to do. It is a lot of wasted fabric from this fabric bundle but I think I will set aside these blocks and use them in some other way later. I can start again and make just a top for now and work on the next steps later.

I do have plenty more to work with and might have a bit of saved fabric as well. I had wanted to make myself a Harry Potter bag or two. I think though that with the fabric I have both printed and plain I can put something nice together. Once I get this to a quilt top stage I will share again.

Sorry I am so slow with the crafts. I have much bigger plans than I have skills so most of this tends to be an act of frustration for me. I do truly believe that this is also very much good for me though. Creation is a great outlet for stress even when it causes more….I think it is the product in the end to see your efforts.

Thank you for looking at my work. I know this was more of me complaining and working through my thoughts than anything else so if you got this far you deserve a pat on the back and a nice drink.