My First Quilt

I've been working on some wedding gifts - and will not post the finishes here until the Brides and Grooms get to see their gift first.

So I thought I would show pictures and tell the story of My First Quilt.

In 1972 our family took a trip across the country.  We camped from California to Maryland and visited friends and family, and every car, train, or airplane museum my Dad could find.  When we were in Detroit we went to the Henry Ford Museum - and amidst all the cars there was a woman quilting a quilt by hand.  I stopped to talk with her and watch as she hand quilted.  She told me that what she was doing was "Shadow Quilting" or "Echo Quilting" around the beautiful shapes on the quilt.

I guess I must have talked about it alot - because my Mom bought me fabric for my next birthday.  Fabric to make a quilt.

Maybe you remember Kettle Cloth?
It looks a lot like linen - but it was The Quintessential "70's" fabric - made of Poly & Cotton.
And my favorite color at the time was this lovely turquoise.

Probably not the best fabric for a quilt.

Additionally - I really liked Holly Hobbie.  So we got an embroidery pattern with two illustrations of Holly Hobby.  I made mirror images of each and worked for a few (MANY) years embroidering the 4 blocks - they are about 12" x 18".



My Mom even bought two sets of Holly Hobbie sheets to match the fabric she had bought for me.



Well, I think this quilt took me 25 years to finish!  By the time I graduated from High School the embroidery was complete.  By the time I graduated from College the top was pieced.  I was determined to hand quilt this quilt - so - it was not completed until I had two girls who would soon be too old to have Holly Hobbie in their room!!



The Kettle Cloth was so thick that I could not use the "rocking motion" technique to quilt this baby.  I, instead, would push the needle down with my right hand and pull it all the way out in the back with my left hand.  Then I would push the needle up with my left hand and pull it all the way out in the front.

It took years.

It, in fact, was in the frame SO LONG that the sun bleached a portion of the quilt!  I promise the quilt was not in a place where the sun could even touch it!  But somehow it was lighter.

 

 I think I did everything you could possibly do to make quilting difficult.
1. I used the wrong kind of fabric
2. I zigzagged the seams..  (this baby will NEVER fall apart!)
3. I pulled the backing around to bind it.
4. I cut every square individually.  By hand.

But you have to admit that I learned how to embroider and I learned how to quilt.

Did I mention that I love this quilt!!

I'm linking up with Lilly's Quilts where she hosts a Small Blog Meet at the beginning of each month.  Check out the other Small Blogs and the lovely work they do!

You can visit other posts on this blog "Cutitstraight" by clicking the "home" button at the top of the blog.  

Thanks for stopping by!

CathyH

Twelve Years Later - Great Memories

In 1999 I hosted a Girls' Quilting Club.  My daughter and a few of her friends met once a month and we learned how to make patched blocks with the hope of eventually making a quilt.  Since I liked to quilt, I figured it was an important part of a homeschool curriculum.  I don't know if these girls actually like quilting, but this picture bears witness that we had a lot of fun when we were together.

For my birthday that school year, the girls each made me a Pinwheel Block.  Some of their moms even made me a block!  They chose a Green and Burgundy color scheme that coordinated with the bedspread on my bed at the time.

Did I mention that it was in 1999?

So, their blocks sat in a box for the last 12 years.  Most of the blocks had a sticky note on it with the name of the block's maker so that I had some idea who had made these blocks.

This year I have attempted to complete a bunch of Un-Finished Objects (UFO's) and in August this was the project I was supposed to finish.  So I started moving the blocks around on my design wall.

I took one pinwheel apart, added a couple more triangles to it, and used it on the sides.

I added a couple of my own pinwheels and a burgundy frame.

I added another burgundy frame and finished it with a burgundy edge.  You can read about the second frame at this blogpost.  

I added a little bit of hand quilting.

I quilted some pinwheels in the border.

And all the while I thought about these sweet girls who came to the Quilting Club.  I prayed for them and the places they were now.  I thought about the changes in their lives that have occurred over the past 12 years.  And now I have a quilt in front of me to remind me of each of them, to remind me to pray for them and to remind me to thank the Lord for the time we had together so many years ago.

A treasure trove of memories.

Pieced together over the years.

On my lap and in my heart.

You girls are all very special to me.

CathyH