Pattern, backing & binding: Cotton
Batting: Wool
Hand quilting: DMC Pearl, size 8, white

At the age of 27, I burned out…

Burnout seems to be becoming more common. Is it because I’ve experienced it myself and am now more aware, or is it actually on the rise?

Like most people, my burnout was a combination of personal life events and work situations. Over about 1.5-2 years, the two together made me crash hard. Fatigue, depression, and memory loss crept up on me until I was terrified my short-term memory was failing.

I went on sick leave in October 2022. Fortunately, in Norway, we have support when we struggle.

Knowing myself, especially after COVID, I knew I couldn’t just sit at home and do nothing. My brain was fried, and without something to focus on, my thoughts would spiral. Embroidery had been a hobby since 2016, but I needed to learn something new…

Somehow, the idea of teaching myself how to quilt popped into my head. I knew it would be a challenge, but I would get to use my hands and creative side. So I went to the local craft shop, bought some scrap fabric, watched many videos, and read many blog posts. Shoutout to people like Suzy Quilts!

I didn’t own a sewing machine at the time, so I did everything by hand. Turns out, I love quilting! Also, making a quilt entirely by hand is hard, and I won’t be doing that again; kudos to those who do that.

Fortunately, my in-laws gifted me a little starter sewing machine for Christmas 2022 and thus began my first real quilt adventure.

Thriving

I loved the Thrive pattern and the colors Suzy used. It was labeled beginner-friendly, so I decided to start with it. Ambitious? Maybe, but it looks more complicated than it is. I decided to start easy and order the exact colors she had used for hers. I was home in the US for Christmas, so I ordered it to bring back to Norway.

Suzy had a quilt-along blog post for this pattern, broken down into about 5-6 weeks. It was a perfect way to follow along and get tips and tricks while I learned by doing.

Leo, my Maine Coon helped, of course, every step of the way. As you can see from the pictures, we got started while on a little cabin trip.

Once the fabric was cut, I got to piecing. It’s not the easiest quilt to start when it’s your first, but Suzy had many good tips and tricks for aligning blocks. It is incredibly satisfying watching something you make start coming together.

Quilt Wall

While sewing blocks together, it became increasingly evident that lots of floor space is needed when making quilts. After some research, I found that quilt walls were a thing, so I ordered one instead of making my own. The apartment we were in during this time was a rental, and I didn’t have a dedicated quilting room, so I needed a flexible solution.

If you have pets, you know hair is everywhere, no matter how much you vacuum. So, getting the fabric off the floor meant I didn’t need to vacuum whenever I wanted to lay out my quilt. We will pretend that helped with the constant ‘everything covered in fur’ issue….

Leo though the design wall was a lot of fun. He may have knocked it down a few times…. I will need something a bit more Leo-proof eventually.

Making a quilt sandwich

Once all the blocks were assembled, it was time to baste the back fabric, batting, and pattern together. As a beginner, I decided to use the pinning technique.

I do not like synthetic fabrics; using non-natural materials doesn’t seem right. Since I live in Norway, I wanted to ensure my quilts were light and warm. With this criteria, wool is the best option. It is natural, lighter than cotton, and incredibly warm.

Leo approved of wool batting as well.

Hand quilting

Machine quilting on my little starter sewing machine isn’t an option with this large of a project. However, I love the look and feel of hand quilting, which makes it feel more ‘handmade,’ so I decided to hand quilt.

After researching, I found which thread was best and started getting to work. I drew on the stitch pattern I wanted to follow using a fabric pen.

During this time, we went on another cabin trip, which was a perfect little spot for some hand quilting.

Binding

Binding is the one ‘major’ mistake I made on this quilt. I ended up doing it backward so that my hand stitches were on the top instead of the back. I was in too deep once I realized and decided that it would just be this quilt’s querk.

First I used the sewing machine to attach the binding and finished it off with hand stitching.

Done!

The quilt is complete!