My First Quilt

I’m following a parade of quilts…found all the info at one of my favorite blogs Camille Roskelley’s Simplify I’m going to play along! So here goes…

My first “real” quilt, I made for my mom. It was made from patriotic fabric and a free pattern handout  from Quilt Country. I made it while watching troops roll into Iraq at the beginning of the war. My mom and I watched daily as we couldn’t stop. I’d watch while she was at school and then she’d call me when she got home and I’d tell her all she’d missed that day. Our favorite reporter was David Bloom. We watched his reports and our hearts were broken when died from DVT. At that time I should’ve been working on wedding stuff since my wedding day was fast approaching, but I wanted to quilt.

The most recent “real” quilt was a shabby chic quilt with prairie points instead of binding. I fell in love with the pattern from Bunny Hill Designs. I ordered the fabric from one of my favorite quilt shops Shabby Fabrics. I had all intentions of putting this quilt on my precious Nora Rose’s bed and redecorating her room into a beautiful rose filled shabby bedroom. But alas…she said she couldn’t like the quilt because it was not purple!

I’m not a perfect quilter. I have more unfinished projects than finished projects.  A “real” quilt is when I actually piece the quilt and send it to one of my favorite long arm quilters to quilt for me and then I get it back and finish it up!I’ve learned that I need to take time to cut out my pieces…I get so excited that I get sloppy! Sometimes simple is best.

Each quilt has a story. I’ve been collecting old quilts for years and I often wonder what the story behind the quilt or quilter was…was she an old spinster or a young bride or a mom making something to keep her babies warm at night. My mom made me a little book shortly after my first quilt. It’s for me to journal about the quilts I make. It has a place a for a picture also. After I complete a quilt, I take a picture and journal so that someday when my girls go through my quilts…they will know the story behind each quilt.

until next time…s

Comments

[Carrie]

Hi Stacey ~ I love the quilts and the stories. (And I loved David Bloom too and his passing still breaks my heart.)

I've kept a quilt journal too though it seems I haven't kept up with it in the past year or so but I know I should as it is a wonderful way to record thoughts about the quilt that you wouldn't put on a label. All the what-I-learned, this was made for so-and-so, this is what is going on in my life kind of thoughts. Do you put labels on your quilts? It was "suggested" to me to do both lest the journal be lost or separated from the quilt. :)

Yikes! Long comment... thank you for sharing your quilts and your stories, and for joining in!

[Yvette H]

I love the quilts.

[Vanessa]

That is soooo cool!!! I wish I knew how to quilt, they always look so nice!

[stacey]

Carrie - I do add a label to my quilts and I have thought about adding some journaling but I'm pretty chatty and wordy...so it's hard for me to tell a story and make it short! ;-) I should probably do both and just try to shorten the label journaling as best i can!

[Nicole]

I love the quilt journal idea! I've been wanting to learn to quilt- thought it might be a good project for me when Ryleigh starts Kindergarten in the fall. I'd love any suggestions you might have on how to learn- books, classes, etc. :)

Your quilts are beautiful!

[stacey]

Thanks Nicole. I am a self taught quilter. I learn as I go. I'm planning on taking some classes this fall once Nora is back in school. Maybe we could take a class at a local quilt shop together! You sew beautifully so you will probably do great with quilting!

[Laurianna Murray]

Gorgeous! My Grandmother was a quilter and all three of us have a special quilt she made for us. :) Yours are gorgeous! Keep that journal up!

La-

[Katie B]

Really lovely quilts.