We all have to start somewhere when we are learning, commonly known as 'the beginning'. Making our first quilt. Learning to drive. Figuring out how to play golf. No matter what it is, we are first a beginner. Nobody does an amazing job at their first anything. And sometimes that first is quite a crazy mess!
To get ready for the Ultimate Beginner's Quilt Along those of us that are sewing along are sharing our First quilt. Mine, well... is NOT a pretty one! Before we start.. here is the scoop
At the end is the fun list of the Design team you MUST Visit today to see their first quilts and then each week as we sew along!
DETAILS
- FREE Patterns I'll be posting them here (enter your email to be sure you get notices)
- KIT if you want one (more will be in today if it's showing none)
- Notions starter package
- My Teach me to Make a Quilt book
- Aug 1 to Oct 3 - sew a block each week!
- Oct 10 to Oct 24 - sew the blocks together
- Nov 7 - share your finished quilt!
For this quilt you’ll need the following fabric amounts:
• 12 Fat Quarters*
• 7/8 Yards neutral color (we chose white) for sashing which goes between the blocks
• 1 1/8 Yards for the border
• 3 3/8 Yards for the back of the quilt
For the batting, I really like Happy Cloud Batting in Throw Size
*A Fat Quarter is a quarter of a yard that’s cut wider, at 18″ x 21″ so that you have more room to work with. Read more about various types of fabric precuts.
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Download Fabric requirements sheets_
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Are you ready? Here is the Story of.....
"Pat Sloan's FIRST first quilt"
So Just sit right back
And you'll hear a tale
A tale of a fateful quilt.
That started from a magazine,
In a tiny sewing room.
The mate was a mighty sewing woman,
The Skipper brave and sure,
Five thoughts passed through her mind that day,
For a three day quilt,
A three day quilt.
recognize the song?
First we must search the 'archives'... yes... there is VERY little light in the recesses of the storage/shipping room.
I was SURE it was here.. but I did find some other goodies. There is a totally drafted BY ME, hand pieced, hand quilted small mariner's compass quilt in that stack. I remember making that!
And my Great Grandma's crochet granny square afghan
checked here JUST in case it was hiding
not here, where else to look....
not here either... dang I DO NOT want to start opening boxes and trunks.... one more spot
I found it!!! I found it!!! I'm so GLAD I didn't have to open boxes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now JUST FOR YOU, and because I think it smells musty.. I hauled it outside for a photo 'op' and 'Freshening up'.
So what year do YOU think I made this quilt... tick tock.. tick tock... times up!!! I made this in about 1979... MAYBE 1980. I made it for our first home.. let me ask the Shipping Department (Gregg) what year we got that... hold on...ok.... 1980 it is!!!
Put on your seat-belt.. now the story REALLY starts!
To set the stage... I started sewing in Ms Orr's sewing class in either 9th or 10th grade (yes.. we MUST go back this far). I LOVED LOVED LOVEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD to sew. I made HORRID clothing that never fit .. but I loved MAKING THEM!
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Fast forward.. (yes.. I can see you are relieved)... First nobody in my family sewed... not my mom, not my grandmothers and NOT my GREAT Grandmothers.. really... nobody believes me but it's true! First adult I met who sewed (beside my teacher) was my future mother-in-law!
So anyway... I sewed clothing.. not good.. but I had to sew... really really REALLY had to sew. Sewed in college, sewed on my first job (machine in my room), sewed in our first apartment where I had the 2nd bedroom for my 'studio'.
Then we bought our first house. Well.. now I could sew 'things' for the house!! And I decided to make a .. yep.. BEDSPREAD. Are you still with me? The ONLY quilts I'd seen were made by Gregg's grandmothers. They were utility type 'throws'. The same as my family had in yarn, crocheted afghan.
I did not KNOW you put quilts on beds, a Bed had a BEDSPREAD!.
Now remember I made clothing.. that means using a pattern. So I went looking for a bedspread pattern and found a... drum roll...
a QUILT MAGAZINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So let's take a closer look at this lovely 'quilt'. I found 3 pieces of fabric .. you know they do match. I followed the pattern... NOBODY said ANYTHING about points MATCHING.... geezzz.
And exactly HOW do the layers go together? Well mom-mom's quilts (Gregg's Grandma's) were tied with yarn.. so of course I did the same... I tied them about every 3 feet or so.. seemed like enough!! I didn't KNOW her quilts had BLANKETS inside... they didn't write THAT in the magazine pattern.
So let's take a closer look at the BIG BLUE THING in the middle of my love-er-ly 'quilt'. What the HECK IS THAT? Well when I got my FIRST EVER BABY...ummm... DOG .. he got to do whatever he dang well pleased... and he loved this quilt... loved it a lot... he loved a hole right in the center! I have ... at some point... done a few stitches to close up the GAPPING hole so no MORE batting falls out.. Nothing but the BEST for this quilt.
But that's NOT ALL!! What would ANY EXPERT Seamtress in 1980 use for the BACK of her quilt? Well a SHEET of course! First of all it's big enough
And I saw no reason to remove that that cute little piping, it is a nice accent!
Had enough? GOOD!!!
So has this INSPIRED you? To be honest it did NOT inspire me one little bit to keep quilting. I did NOT quilt again until about 1996 ... when my friend Gwen TOLD me I HAD to learn to quilt... that is my SECOND First quilt.... I'll leave that one for another day.
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Over the years that I've told this story I've had questions.
Remember I was NOT making a QUILT, I had no idea how a quilt was supposed to look or be made. To make my bedspread I used a 'quilt magazine'. I LOVE this quilt and never thought it was 'Bad' or 'Ugly' or 'Wrong'. It was just one of a zillion things I made and used.
A few answers to questions I've been asked.
- The 'blue patch' is not a patch.... look close at that photo... at all the photos. What you are seeing is the BACKING through a GIANT HOLE in the quilt!!! Ted chewed a hole, the batting has been migrating out for... ummmm... ever... so I did a running stitch at some point to close the wound... hole... there you go!
- The 'storage closet' is our second largest bedroom that we use for storage, warehouse and shipping department. I have a very small house!
- No I am not going to hold up each and every one of the quilts on the shelves for you to see... no... what? Chocolate? Flowers? ... FYI - every single quilt you see in those photos has been published in a book or a pattern or a magazine.. every single one.
- Yes I DO have more quilts.. lots more! About 650 projects last time I counted
- Will I send you a quilt.. not today.. tomorrow does not look good either
- For those of you who said you STILL have some of that blue flower fabric.. yes this one above incase you forgot. I do believe in the late 70's it was the ONLY blue fabric you could buy... correct me if I'm wrong... but I think that is right. Oh back to you STILL OWNING SOME... now is the time to move that puppy out.. you DO NOT NEED IT.. you HAVE NOT USED IT.. let it go... you'll be fine. I promise.
- It is heart warming to know I made SO MANY OF YOU feel SO MUCH BETTER that MY quilt is worse than yours... now I can sleep at night!
- And if you have NOT shared your first quilt.. I dare you... double dare you... I double DOG dare you to share that picture with me... it can NOT be worse than this one. Although I did enjoy the story I was told about the Cathedral window SKIRT that was not only worn by the maker but shared by her helper! The two of them SHARED WEARING it to events. Like.. nobody KNEW it was the same outfit?? Are there PHOTOS Of this? Evidence.. I want evidence!
Now visit the others who are sewing along on the Ultimate Beginners Sew Along and see their First quilts.. wonder if any are as bad as mine?
Tracie at Ricefordstreams
Angie at a little patchwork
Mathew Mister Domestic
Karin at Blue Pip Designs
Gina of Thread Graffiti
Carrie in Texas
Linden of VineLines
Priscilla The Real Housewives of Cross Stitch
Rebecca One Wee Bird
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