Friday, May 21, 2010

Bloggers Quilt Festival

Thank you Amy for hosting this and letting us play along.


This is my first quilt. I was 17 and saw it on the cover of an old quilt magazine as a wall hanging. Saw it, wanted it, and went bumbling toward it. I had only made simple clothes up to this point, and had no clue what I was doing. I got my mom and a lady from church to help me figure out the yardage I would need to take it from wallhanging to queen size quilt.

I knew nothing about strip piecing, pretty much all I had going for me was I could sew a straight seam. Every piece was cut in pairs and pieced individually. Man, I could do this quilt so much faster now. The alternate squares are needle turn applique. Haven't done applique since, but I want to now.

Once I got it pieced, I started hand quilting it and realized I hated hand quilting. I got 8 blocks done and put it to the side to start piecing the blocks for my next quilt. My mom took it from me and finished the hand quilting and binding and gave it back to me as part of my Christmas. LOVE you mom.

This quilt is why I tell people they can do anything they want. If you want to try a new craft, find something you love, even if it isn't the simplest thing you can find, and you will be more likely to follow through and complete it.

23 comments:

  1. I love the two shades of green in this quilt! Quite an ambitious project for your first quilt! It looks great - thanks for sharing!

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  2. Melissa, I always wanted to do an Irish Chain, and this one is the most beautiful and inspiring I have ever seen! Thank you for sharing!
    Greetings from Cyprus,
    Valentina

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  3. WOW - I still love the graphic simplicity of an Irish Chain quilt.

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  4. great story and that is an awesome first quilt!

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  5. Truly one of the most beautiful formal quilts I have ever seen. So glad your mom finished it up for you. Wonderful!

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  6. Your first quilt??? That is absolutely incredible - the work and precision in the whole thing and you didn't even use a pattern. I'm impressed and a little awestruck. It has quite an Irish feel to it. Is it an Irish pattern?

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  7. I still have that magazine in case I want to do it. Now I do not have to...u did...it looks lovely

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  8. Awwww! Beautiful quilt and your Mom sounds like a wonderful woman. What a nice project for you to do together!

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  9. Your quilt is absolutely beautiful! No wonder you fell in love with it from the picture!

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  10. Amazing first quilt! Good work!

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  11. This is a BEAUTIFUL quilt!!! And how funny - I was 19 when I fell in love with a quilt on a magazine cover, and decided to make it, knowing nothing about sewing. Didn't own a sewing machine! The quilt took me 20 years to finish, the minute I cuddled up under it I was hooked. Trust me, it was NOTHING like yours - mine was very simple! I'm in awe of your quilt.

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  12. Pretty quilt. I love that your mom finished it up for you!

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  13. What a beautiful quilt - and a lovely gift from your Mom to finish it for you!

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  14. Gorgeous! It sounds like my first couple quilts--I could have totally used the idea of strip piecing, and also found out I didn't love hand applique or hand quilting. :)

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  15. Wow! What a great story and what a great quilt! Thanks for sharing!

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  16. Dynamite first quilt. You obviously are a natural.

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  17. WOW!
    That is a very impressive first quilt. Thanks for sharing! :)

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  18. What an ambitious quilt for your 1st and you pulled it off-kudos. The greens give it a lot of visual warmth.
    Come see my antique quilt entries:
    http://utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com
    http://starleyquilts.blogspot.com

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  19. Very impressive for your 1st quilt. Wow!
    Randi
    http://DivaBuzz.designing-diva.com

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