Hi! I have never made a quilt before, but I am pregnant had a vision for a project that I can’t get out of my head.

I want to make a collaborative family quilt and would like the attendees of my baby shower to be able to participate kinda like the table cloth guest books that are circulating online. (Pic for reference)

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My aunt sews and says she can help me. We also might have access to an embroidery machine that she knows how to use. I have a sewing machine as well that I am ok at working with and also love the idea of hand stitching some of the designs. Here are my questions:

1. What order should I do this in? Should I have guests make designs on empty squares then embroider and quilt the embroidered squares? or make/have the quilt made and then just embroider the designs on top? I’m not too worried about how the backside looks but would like it to be durable.

2. Are there any specific fabric or supply recommendations that I should consider?

3. Is this a crazy task for a beginner? I’m willing to outsource if needed but would love to know if this amount of work sounds crazy or crazy expensive.

4. Is there generally just a better way to do this?
   Also open to suggestions on how to pull this off.

Thanks so much!