I can remember my first quilting experience. I was young then and I happened to pass by a free quilting pattern. I knew my Grandma would love it, so I grabbed it and immediately began picking out fabric. I went home and was consumed with sewing for the next three weeks. I also remember after all the sweat and blood (just joking, it wasn't that bad) looking at the quilt top so proud of my 13-year-old self; but - there was a problem; I had no idea how to put the three layers together. I could see the top, the back, and the batting - but how did they get sewn together the way I had seen finished quilts?
So I grabbed my stuff and went to my mom for help. My mom is a great help, and is always eager to be my help when I need it (I love you mom). Now it is important to know my mom had always said she is not a crafty person (that it skipped a generation). Whether I didn't believe her, or just forgot, I never knew what she meant till that moment when she looked at the quilt clueless of what to do.
She finally said, “I got it, we can do it like a pillow”. Well that made sense to me; why wouldn't doing it like a pillow work? And so that’s what we did. We sewed all around the entire quilt leaving an open end - then after all our work, we pulled the quilt inside out and we could see that the pillow way, is not the quilting way; the quilt top was on one side, the batting on the other, and the backing in the middle. Wow, definitely not what we were expecting.
But in all of that disappointment, there were no tears (at least of sadness). Instead of crying we found ourselves both laughing hysterically. We did our best to fix it, and I still gave it to my grandma when we finished. My Grandma loved it :) And you know what, she still uses it today.
My first quilting project could have turned out a lot differently - and more smoothly. I probably would love quilting just the same. But I am glad that this was the experience I was blessed to have. And I know in a lot of ways it contributed to my love of quilting and passion today. Every time I visit grandma and I see that same quilt; I’m reminded of that night laughing with mom (again, I love you mom).
What about your first quilting experience (if you have one) - what was it like?
4 comments:
My first quilt was for my great grandma. I wanted to do some thing special for her . So I made her a quilt for her bed. I put iorn on photos of me and my family on it. It turned out to be a five generation gift. She is a proud Great great grandma to 8 five generation grandbabies. I love her so much. the quilt turned out really good and she still has it. it has not fallen apart and its been 4 years now so I must have did some thing right. -Sonya-
What a great first quilt and so special thanks for sharing. I have made a total 5 photos quilt and i love how they turn out. It is one of the best gifts i think you can give someone.
My grandma helped me make my first quilt top. It's in my hope chest right now as I'm saving money to buy batting. :) I love quilting...too bad it's so expensive. :( Actually, thanks to my grandma my first quilting experience went really well without any major mess-ups. :)
i love that story even though u called me out about not being able to sew. Anyway at least we had a great laugh about it love u so much my daughter!
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