I thought I would have my first post be about the first quilt I made! Talk about a learning experince!
My wonderful mother gave me a kick in the rear to make a quilt after telling me there were only so many times she could fix the quilt my Grandmother had made me. So, I decided that I would have her teach me how to make my own quilt that I could use on a regular basis and retire my special Wedding Ring pattern quilt to keepsake status.
The “adventure” started with a trip to the local craft store to buy fabric. This is my favorite part! I LOVE picking fabrics for my quilts!! Apparently this is a great skill I got from my Grandmother
I picked 6 fabrics with a aqua-green and chocolate-brown color scheme in an attempt to match the ridiculously expensive bed set that I had…but of course didn’t use. (That will be a topic for another post!) They were BEAUTIFUL! We checked out and headed home to start sewing….or so I thought! Here is where the lesson really started! I learned that all the fabric needed to be washed, dried, and ironed before anything else could happen. I was geared up and ready to rock out a quilt and I had to wait for laundry?!?!?! YES! my mother said! So….I waited for the laundry and then ironed my lovely fabric later that day. This is my second favorite part I’m weird I know, but there is something relaxing about ironing quilt fabric!
With all the material ready it was time to cut. This is my least favorite part because the more precise you are here the easier it is when you start sewing. (I recommend doing what I did if you are not a good cutter and find a friend who is! Love you Jaime!
) I had the cutting mat and rotational cutter all set up and folded my fabric to cut the ends off first. This is important because the ends are there to keep the fabric from stretching before it is used and it will sew differently than the rest of the fabric if you don’t cut it off. Thankfully it is usually no more than half an inch on the end! Once I had the ends off I set out to cut my 8 inch blocks.With all the blocks cut out it was TIME TO DESIGN! This part can be difficult if you aren’t patient with yourself. Take some time to look at patterns and see different layouts so you have somewhat of an idea of what you want and then leave room for your special spins on them! I took my blocks and laid out 3-4 different designs before deciding on the ONE! (At this point I was a day and a half in and hadn’t sewed 1 stitch! Talk about learning patience for the correct process!)
Then my mother gave me an amazing gift!!! She took me down and bought me my first sewing machine!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m not sure what it was, but I had such a sence of power having my own sewing machine! Like there was nothing I couldn’t make or fix if I really had to! It was great! Then she bid me farewell and sent me out to start sewing! The block quilt was a great pattern for a first quilt because it’s easy and there aren’t a lot of little pieces. I sewed each block into their rows with 1/4inch seams and then sewed the rows together. It was so exciting having the top done!
With the top done we then went and bought “the filling”
and material for the back. Then we laid everything out on top of each other and safety pinned it together so the “quilting” could begin! I started in the middle and quilted (by hand) to the edges. It did take a few weeks, but I found that I enjoyed hand-quilting! It was nice to have something to do with my hands while watching tv in the evenings and is also a great way to keep warm having it on your lap!Then before I knew it I had my first quilt!!!!!!!!!!!! And I was able to share my excitement with my friends and then THEY were inspired to learn how to make a quilt! That’s where this adventure really started!
Through this experience I learned things about my Grandmother I never knew and was able to feel a connection to her. I have memories of learning from my mother that I will keep in my heart always. Most importantly I gained knowledge and the amazing feeling of starting a project and then finishing it! It gave me confidence to start trying other things! Like knitting! And Crocheting! 
--Elaine
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