The First Time I Quilted

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!

Use this search feature to quickly find the information you are looking for.