The little rag quilt that could: How my baby sister, beautiful fabric, and Instagram helped build my confidence and get me moving

When my Lil Sis asked me to make a baby rag quilt and coordinating big sister quilt for one of her besties, I was stoked! I hadn’t had an excuse to sew in a long time, and I had been pinning, pinning, pinning pretty fabrics with no project to use them on. She wanted a baby size rag quilt for the baby (good for tummy time, the carseat, stroller, and crib), and a smaller “foofy” (her word, not mine, I swear) version of it for Big Sissy so that she felt special, too. What a fun idea!

We started at the very beginning of the process together, which was new for me because I usually have complete control over the fabrics I choose and how they all come together. I wasn’t exactly sure how it would all work, but everything flowed naturally and smoothly from the very beginning.

First, I showed Lil Sis a boatload of fabric ideas from my (super secret) Pinterest boards and she narrowed it down to a handful of ones she liked.

Then I put those fabrics into a layout so she could see how they would look all together, like this:

Next, she hid in the stairwell at her work and called me, ecstatic. She oooo’d, she ahhhh’d, she gushed! So I took that as a “yes” and got down to business.

I ordered the fabric…sigh, it kinda just makes my heart stop.

I cut it up, and I got to sewing.

And as I was sewing I began to feel some familiar feelings….like that, “Hey, I LIKE doing this!” feeling!

That, “Hey, this is so beautiful!” (tingly) feeling!

That, “Hey, that’s right, I’m GOOD at this!” feeling!

And finally, that “Wow, these rag quilts are ah-mazing” feeling!

Baby sister rag quilt

Big sister rag quilt

Along the way I kept Lil Sis up to date on the progress on Instagram, which was also new for me. It was a really fun way to engage my “client” in the process and to build anticipation and enthusiasm for her final rag quilts.

@ruralish: Creatin’ @lilsis: 😍 can’t wait!!

@lilsis: ❤

@lilsis: I think the butterflies are my favorite now ☺

@ruralish: All sewn up & ready to snip! @lilsis: “Beautiful Sis!”

@lilsis: ❤

@ruralish: Home stretch! @lilsis: “This is the sneak peek I showed her!”

@ruralish: All done! @lilsis: “I want it now!!! Need to enjoy it before it goes to its new family!! 😍 thank u Sis, it’s absolutely beautiful, I can’t believe how you carried out my vision perfectly, you’re such a pro! ❌❤️❌❤️ 😘😘😘😂”

@ruralish: Almost ready to mail! My sis wants me to send it 1 day mail because she can’t stand to wait, haha. @lilsis: “It’s been so fun making it with u from afar, I’m very excited to see them all finished up, just can’t wait!”

@ruralish: Final journey to Baby & Big Sissy! @lilsis: ❤

Since Lil Sis lives about an hour and a half away, I had to mail the rag quilts, which was a good exercise for me to go through since I hadn’t done that before (and quite, frankly, mailing was one of the “issues” that was hanging up my shop). I tied them up nice and cute:

Packed them up nicely:

And mailed them off!

And everyone LOVED THEM! ❤

After YEARS of overthinking everything there was to overthink about opening my Etsy shop, this whole process was a major confidence booster for me! I realized how well sewing rag quilts fits in with my life as a stay at home mom – even if I am sewing 15-20 minutes here and there or after everyone is asleep, it’s getting done. I remembered how much I enjoy sewing – it’s cathartic and forces me to sit down and zone out for a little while (a MUST with a 5 and 3 year old to keep up with). Seeing my sister’s enthusiasm along the way, her joy to give these handmade gifts to her friends, and her friends’ reactions, I was reminded how EXCITED people get about my rag quilts and how much they enjoy receiving them!

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. I am calling this rag quilt “Sorella”, which is Italian for “sister”, because there are a bunch of sisters in this rag quilt story! Also, I think it’s pretty. 🙂