Punch Drunk Adventures, Part 1

I’m going to make a quilt! With a pattern and everything. I’ve always loved Drunk Love by Denyse Schmidt, especially the two-tone versions. (I have to admit that I have a name blockage on this and always call it Punch Drunk, so that is what I will call it henceforth. For some reason, I'm more comfortable talking about my Punch Drunk Adventures than my Drunk Love Adventures...that's for my other secret blog...) Anyway, I bought this gorgeous shot cotton for it, which has really rich beautiful colors. The bottom two blues in the photo are going to be the top of the quilt, and the top two purples are for the back.

So far, the fabric is bought, washed, and ironed! I got some good thread to sew with, and I have also read the book. Yes, I actually read it, and followed all the directions to a T so far. (Like cutting the edges of my fabric with pinking shears before washing, and ironing everything while the fabric is still damp.) Until now my quilting experience is just what I’ve made up on my own, so I sometimes worry that I am missing out on some big secret they would teach in a class.

I took the book to a copy shop and enlarged the pattern to size called for. It was a little harder than I expected, and the copy shop clerk was super accommodating while not being able to actually help me do anything because she’s not allowed to copy copyrighted materials. The full-size pattern pieces would not fit on one page, so I had to cut parts of each block pattern in smaller pieces and then enlarge the pieces on 11x17. I ended up with these.

So, I’m off to a good start! Next up – cutting the fabric. I’m strangely nervous about this. There is so much, and I don’t want to mess it up and waste all my beautiful fabric. Do I cut enough for a square at a time, or cut it all so I am ready to go on all 36 squares? I’m leaning towards cutting everything all at once. Actually, I think I’m going to cut a sample square and sew it up and then decide. Wish me luck!