My First (and Hopefully Not Last) Quilt

I was never a huge quilt lover until my friend Michelle let me borrow a beginner quilt book.  I was hooked by the first visit to the fabric store. Choosing the fabric took quite some time, but it was like putting together the colors for a kaleidoscope or a mosaic. I didn't have to choose fabrics that matched perfectly. I chose one main fabric that I really loved and ran the bolt passed all the other fabrics and grabbed the ones that complimented it.  I think my favorite part of the whole process is when you see all the different squares of fabric sewn together for the first time.
I liked the idea of creating something that could be so one-of-a-kind but always thought a quilt would be too time-consuming and difficult.  I was wrong! Well, wrong about it being too difficult.  A quilt is as time consuming as you want it to be.  A simple one can be made in just a few hours. But I was bound and determined to do hand stitching for the decorative quilting so that added on around five more hours. Keep in mind that it was my first time hand stitching anything besides a hem. When my husband and I were visiting his family in Indiana, we went shopping in Amish country where I found a beautiful quilting template.  Perfect for my quilt! In the second picture below, I tried to crop a closeup so you can see the hand-stitched pattern.
I wish I had more time to quilt.  I thought of maybe trying to do one per year.  I don't think I would hang one up in my house, but I think they are wonderful gifts.  My Mom sure loved hers.

The floral fabric around the edge was the first fabric I chose.  I then took the bolt and ran it passed the rest.  The others just kind of jumped out at me!

If you look closely, you can see the hand-stitched pattern.  I did every other square to cut down on the time.