The First Time I Quilted
It's faded, but it still good.
Here is my story about the first time I quilted.
There I was at my local crafting store in awe of all the pretty fabrics. There was a display overhead of a beautiful quilt. I remembered my grandmother quilting with fond memories. I wish she taught me how. Alas, she passed away before she could.
I decided then and there that I was going to learn how to quilt. I would honor her memory.
The store had so many books on quilting that it was hard to choose. After thumbing through several of them, I was able to find one book that was beginners.
I took it home and read that book cover to cover. It only had 12 pages. There were only 5 patterns in it. This helped narrow it down to which one I wanted to tackle.
The next day I went to the store again. I purchased all the supplies that the pattern said I needed.
I unloaded everything when I got home and opened the book to the page that started the pattern I wanted to do. Once there, I noticed I had nothing to cut the fabric with but kitchen scissors.
Ugg...
Needless to say, I had to go back because the pattern neglected to tell me that I needed a cutting mat, rotary cutter, and ruler. I guess at the time I was too caught up in all the pretty fabric to think about how to get the pieces I needed.
Has anyone else gone through this when they first quilted?
When I got back home the second time I wanted to start cutting right away. But the lady at the store told me I needed to wash the fabric first.
I separated my fabrics and washed them individually. When one load was dry, I ironed it and cut out the pieces I needed for that particular fabric. This worked to my advantage because I was forced to take breaks in-between loads.
Once everything was washed, dried, ironed, and cut, it was time to get to the
nitty gritty. I pulled out my dusty sewing machine and owners manual. I couldn't even remember how to thread the darn thing.
Once it was threaded I started piecing my cut fabric the way the book directed me. A few times I had to use a seam ripper because I didn't double check my fabric. I neglected to ensure my pieces had the right sides touching.
After a while it all worked out and I had a flow going.
When that top was finished I had a real sense of accomplishment. I didn't realize that I didn't actually start the quilting process until I got to the next step.
I decided to complete the project by hand. My back hurt and I didn't want another day of slaving over the sewing machine. I would rather go at a nice steady pace while watching TV.
That meant I had to get a quilting hoop. When I purchased one, I was so confused.
Why the heck are there so many sizes anyway? I just grabbed the biggest one I could.
The book I bought didn't talk about how to place things in the hoop where I could understand it, so I went online. I read something that said to layer everything and put the hoop under and over all of it. It also stated that everything was to be as tight as a drum.
I did everything that was told to me and I found it extremely hard to get more than once stitch in at a time. So, I worked one stitch at a time until I was done with my first circle.
The next circle I made sure it was smooth in the hoop, but not tight. This worked so much better. I was able to load my need about 2 or 3 stitches at a time.
Needless to say, it took me a couple of months to really finish this quilt. However, it started a passion in me to keep quilting. It's now been several years since that first quilt.
Watch out! It's addictive!