Well… This Happened.
The very first quilt made, using old jeans and scrap fabric from my mother in law.
Welcome to Chris Cross Quilts and More.
Or, as I like to call it, the place where a perfectly reasonable adult somehow developed an unhealthy relationship with fabric.
If you bought fabric 5 years ago for a project you haven’t started yet, hidden another new fat quarter bundle from your spouse, or found yourself explaining why you absolutely needed another shade of blue, you’re among friends here.
A few years ago, I didn’t sew.
Not at all.
I wasn’t raised quilting. I didn’t grow up making my own clothes. I wasn’t one of those people who inherited generations of sewing wisdom or knew what a quarter-inch seam allowance was.
Then one day I decided to learn.
And what started as a simple project quickly turned into a full-blown obsession.
You know how some people collect shoes? I also collect shoes, but that's a whole different story, because I also hate wearing shoes....
I collect fabric.
And rulers.
And thread.
And patterns.
And projects that seemed like a great idea at 11:00 p.m.
Four years later, sewing has become one of my favorite things in the world. It challenges me, frustrates me, teaches me patience, occasionally teaches me new vocabulary when something goes wrong, and somehow keeps pulling me back for more.
So why start a blog? (Aside from simply attempting to embarrass my kids that is).
Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that sewing isn’t really about fabric. (If you’re just getting started, check out my post on 10 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Started Sewing)
It’s about creating something with your own two hands.
It's about community, friendship and shared lives.
It’s about learning a skill that people have been passing down for generations.
It’s about making gifts that become family treasures.
It’s about fixing things instead of throwing them away.
It’s about creativity, problem-solving, and occasionally staring at a tangled bobbin while questioning your life choices.
Most of all, it’s about the stories.
Every quilt has a story.
Every project teaches something.
Every sewer (sewist) has at least one disaster they can laugh about later.
(If you’ve never sewn a project together upside down, inside out, or backwards, you’re either lying or you’ve been sewing for approximately twelve minutes.)
This little corner of the internet will be a place where we talk about all of it.
The successes.
The mistakes.
The projects.
The tools.
The history of sewing and quilting.
The things that work.
The things that definitely do not work.
I’ll share tutorials, tips for beginners, projects I’m working on, things I’m learning, and probably a few stories that begin with, “So there I was, and this seemed like a good idea at the time…”
Whether you’ve been sewing for forty years or just bought your first machine and are wondering why it’s making that noise, you’re welcome here.
Pull up a chair.
Grab a cup of coffee.
Try not to step on any pins.
Let’s see where this adventure takes us.
And if it turns out to be a misadventure?
Well, those usually make the best stories anyway.
— Chris
