My first quilt is complete

There are so many beautiful fabrics out there.  I have been collecting for a few years and have a pretty respectable fabric stash.  I have been using most of it to make purses and (given the fact that I have 2 young kids and only carry a diaper bag most of the time), I decided it was time to try something new. After much inspiration from many sewing books and websites, I decided to try my hand at quilting.  I've been around quilts my entire life.  My mom is a huge quilter and can plow through at least one baby quilt a day.  She makes them to donate to hospitals or to give as gifts.

I decided to start by making a small quilt for my 2-1/2 year old.  I figured, if I'm just starting out, what better to learn on?  I modified a pattern in Joelle Hoverson's beautiful book Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts.  I used some colorful Alexander Henry Sunny Days fabric and the back is an Amy Butler solid.  The binding is simply bits and pieces of my scraps.  The final size is 28" x 33".

Since this is my first quilt, my eye is naturally drawn to the places where I made mistakes.  But I promised myself I would not point those out to others and be proud of my work.  I used free motion quilting which was actually harder than I anticipated.  Overall though, I'm very pleased with how it turned out and can't wait to start my next project.