My first quilt...

Meet Avery Brooke.

She was the inspiration for my first quilt.  She was born in March, and that's when the project began!  I spent a good hour at Hobby Lobby searching for fabrics, and once I found eight that complimented each other, it was game on!

I spent the next few months cutting squares at our "Crappy Attitude Night" (aka Craft Night) and sewing them together.  I finally got a quilt top, and was ready for the next step.... quilting.

Nate and I planned a trip to Arizona in August, and I finished the quilt top just in time because Nate's Aunt Mindy has a quilting machine!!!  I was so excited when she told Nate that she was willing to help with this part.  I assumed that Mindy would just quilt the three pieces together for me (the top, batting, and the backing), but when we got to her house, I quickly learned that I was going to get to use the machine all by myself!  (I realize that this isn't nearly as exciting for you as it is for me, but humor for another minute!)

So I watched, observed, and felt nervous as heck...

Then BAM!  Mindy just let me do it!  It was so much fun, and now I need one of these "machine set-ups" someday when I'm not in a one-bedroom apartment :)

Mindy was awesome and showed me many tricks and different skills to practice, and Nate was super patient while we crafted the day away.  Mindy reminded me a lot of my own aunts, how crafty, creative, and SWEET they all are.

I couldn't give Avery Brooke the quilt just yet.  I took the quilt home to Colorado so that my mom could help me with the last part, the edges.  The edging is like the cherry on top, and made the quilt look complete.  I showed it off to my family and friends, and took one last picture before wrapping it up!

I had so much fun making this quilt, and I can't wait to make another one.  It's nothing compared to what my aunts can produce, but you know what they say, "One small step for man.  One giant step for mankind." or something like that...