My First - Day 25

My first quilt is still one of my favorites. I think it was filled with practical tips and ways to create quilts. She also has a fun sense of humor along the way.

This gift from my mother-in-law was the best thing when I was first learned to quilt. I talked about making one for my friend's baby and she brought me her book the very next day. I started reading and learning the jargon. I then started inhaling other quilt books from the library. A few years after realizing I loved quilting, I starting building my own collection of books. Many in my collection deal with pattern making and modern quilting. It's so vital that one starts with the basics of quilting to move forward. This book covers all that a newbie truly needs.

What was your first quilting book?

Way Back When - Day 18

My First Pattern

When I first started quilting I made basic squares that were fussy cut with the image I wanted highlighted. A few years later I learned to use graph paper to create my first quilt with squares on point. I think it turned out pretty well and is still one of my favorite baby quilts.

In 2003, a neighbor passed away had had this gingham fabric in her collection. I was given a lot of her vintage fabric and to this day I am still making quilts from this amazing stash. I love her fabrics from the 1950's and 1960's because of the fun colors and soft cottons. I'll to post pictures of them one day.

What was your first quilt pattern?

Way Back When - Day 11

Back in the day, I loved creating art on any surface. I used paper, sketchbooks, and canvas to share how I was feeling at the time. Once I delved into quilting, I couldn't stop. Fabric and thread spoke to me in a way that no other art medium could. Sharpies and oil pastels are still my favorite ways to create my initial ideas that later become quilts. Plus, I like the practical nature of giving something that's artistic and functional at the same time in a quilt. 

Here's a diptych I made a few years ago:

Cosmic Lovers
(Oil pastels on canvas)

I had dreams of making this into a quilt for a long time. I gave it to my brother-in-love in PA and forgot all about it until recently. I am putting it up here to remind myself to make this piece a fabric reality some time soon.

Babies!

I adore making baby quilts. They were easier to make when I first learned how to piece and quilt so I made a few of them as my friends and family started having kids. This little Noah's Ark quilt was created for my nephew 6 years ago. I found this fabric on a road trip to PA and knew I wanted all of those colors to fill his crib with color and love after he was born.

He couldn't stop somersaulting while I was trying to get pictures.
He's quite adorable!

I wish I had close up photos of the variegated rainbow thread used to piece these blocks together and applique the little animals around the front border. I even quilted an A for his name in the center which you can see faintly. The back was hand painted fabric by my girlfriend which I bordered on all sides with rainbow scraps of fabric. (I forgot to allow for the large binding and so you can't even see the hearts and colors that border the back that I was so proud of piecing.)

 It took me forever to do the math on the color blocks on the front and back to make them fit together! This was made long before I had my techniques down and so I see all of these things I would change now if I had to make this quilt again. Nevertheless it's still one of my favorites.

I have come along way in my style and with my designs but do enjoy this trip down memory lane to see where I started.

My First Modern Quilt - Day 4

Flashback Friday 

My first modern quilt was made in 2004 before I knew there was even such a thing outside of traditional quilt making. I used red, black and white to make a baby quilt for friends who were researching the use of these high-contrast colors. (They later decided to do yellow and green instead so this has been in my personal collection a long time.)

I entered it into a local fair as a baby quilt in 2005 thinking it would stand out and be an avant garde design. I came in second place to a quilt that was literally pastel squares in a row because the judges said it did not look like a baby quilt. I saw that as a compliment because I didn't want to make something you would find in a store.

The Design

I was chopping up this red-striped fabric I love and started arranging them in lines. Then I would cut through them and rearrange them sew and cut again. I stopped when I came up with a panel that spoke to me. I took the red, black, and white dots fabric and made rectangles. I cut them in half and added the white. I placed them in a diamond pattern to help frame the center.  I also wanted to use black satin binding because I didn't want a light color that would show all of the baby stains it could potentially acquire. I thought it needed some color to break up some of the black before I started quilting it. The scraps from the red-striped fabric were sewn together to make a top and bottom strip to help break up all of the black that seemed to over power it. (After all, they were not Goth parents.)

Here's the front view:

I wanted to make an interesting pattern on the back and cut the stripes on a diagonal. I lined them up so they would make a diamond pattern when sewn together.  I quilted it in a spiral because it looked so hypnotic to me.

Back view:

My quilting has come a long way since this first venture into what I called an avante garde baby quilt at the time. This quilt started my love for making quilts that are not what you would typically find in books or stores.

The current modern quilting movement has given me a place to call home.