Journey of My Quilt

I have always wanted to quilt. I love quilts, love the way they look, love the way they feel. My grandmas made quilts, and I think it's a pretty neat thing to do. To a lot of people, it is no big deal, they have been doing it for years or are very handy with a needle and thread or sewing machine. To me it is a BIG DEAL.

I learned to sew in Home Ec in high school, and did OK at it. I even thought I liked it. When I got married and had kids, I made several items of clothes for me and the girls. Usually pants for me or dresses, and dresses and blouses and shorts for the girls. Several Halloween costumes. I even made Alicia a prom dress her senior year, and a bridesmaid dress for her wedding. They came out pretty good. I thought I was doing a good thing and saving money (I still think that), and I really thought I liked it. I would always list it as a hobby on those things that wanted me to list hobbies. Then one time when I was sewing and felt like taking a sledgehammer to the sewing machine (probably after ripping out a seam for the 2nd or 3rd time), or maybe when I was patching a pair of Bob's bluejeans for the umpteenth time, or maybe when I was listing sewing as a hobby on some kind of form, I realized, I really, really do not like to sew.

I used to patch Bob's bluejeans when they needed it, which was often. Now I know, patching is different than sewing. Patching is, well, patching. You have to fit  a patch over a hole and get it sewed on securely and make it look halfway neat. It is very hard for me to get a patch on some of the places on a jean that needs patching. I have broken probably close to 50 sewing machine needles through the years while I was patching jeans. Yes, I could hand sew them on. I don't like doing that either. I have never been comfortable with a thimble on my finger and when I  use one I catch myself using a different finger than the one with a thimble on it to push the needle through the fabric. I always end up with a finger that resembles a pin cushion. And I know a person or two that will literally take the jeans apart, patch the hole and sew it back together. I did that ONCE, and I couldn't get them back together the way they were when I started, and it was torture to me trying to get them back together at all.

I retired from patching. I might sew up a seam or patch a small hole, but Bob works hard and is rough on his clothes, and his clothes end up with some BIG holes and tears. He just has to wear them that way, or buy some new ones. I also retired from most sewing. I still will once in a while, when somebody really wants me to make a costume or something they really want, but I don't enjoy it, unless I'm "in the mood".

Anyway, back to the subject. I have always kinda wanted to quilt. Lynn did a quilt block when she was in high school in Mrs. Hall's class, and she did a wonderful job on it. I tried to make one like she did and it just fell apart! I think I might have put it together wrong too, I don't know. It was pretty pitiful. I never follow the rules and I think that is one reason my quilting and other things don't turn out like I expect them to. Still, I thought to myself, "When I have time and no distractions, I will make a quilt".

Around 5 years ago, I decided it was time and I was going to make a quilt. That is one thing I wanted to do in my life, just to say I did.

I started looking for fabrics. I wanted to use new fabric because I want to use the quilt as a spread on my bed. I have several quilts by the grandmas with old fabric in them and while I love them, several pieces have just fell out through the years. It is hard to put fabric back in the places it came out, because remember, I HATE to patch~~~~~~~~~~~ :(

I had no idea what I was doing, as in what fabrics would look nice together. Depending on who I asked, people would tell me "Just get the colors/patterns you like and put them together" or,  "You have to be really careful about patterns and colors, and textures". Well, I decided to just get fabric, bring it home, cut out some pieces, lay them out together and see what I liked together. That has worked really well, with the added result that I now have enough leftover pieces to make at least another quilt, but probably 2-3, since some of the leftover fabric doesn't look good together.

First I had to decide on a pattern. A no brainer, squares are good. After trying to sew together the quilt block when Lynn did it in school, I decided I am strictly a "square piece" quilter! Even that is difficult for me. The squares need to be "square" ~~duh~~, so the seams will match. I think I will cheat on that part and just adjust as I go! I wanted to make one of those "puffy" quilts, but I decided that was a little much for an inexperienced quilter! It may be puffy anyway, when I get through with it.

I wanted fabric that had a lot of  sage green or just green in it, and flowers too. I ended up with a green fabric with pink and yellow roses in it, a green pattern, another green/pink pattern, a rose pattern, actually 3 different rose patterns, and a tan that brings out some of the background in the other fabrics. I don't know if they coordinate that well, but I am pleased with how they look, and that is all I care about.

The colors and patterns on the quilt pieces don't make any certain pattern. They are kinda random. I know when I get them all together there will be a pattern there, but not any certain quilt pattern. When quilters start asking me if I'm making a Nine Patch or a Log Cabin, or maybe a Sunshine and Shadow, I say "no", and "no", and "no". I could say "maybe" because I don't have a clue. Actually I have looked up some of these patterns and I am definitely not making any of these. Closest I have found to what I envision in my mind is an American One Patch. When I first laid the pieces out, I had them in a pattern but I decided I didn't really like the way it looked, so I rearranged the pieces and just laid them out one by one and then started over.

Well, I have started piecing the quilt top together. I am hand sewing it because I really don't get on well with a sewing machine, and I didn't want to sit in a straight chair all the time it would take to sew it together. I also wanted to hand sew it because although I don't expect it will be an heirloom quilt like one of my friends suggested, (but it is such a sweet thought), I do think there is something nice about hand sewing a quilt together. I haven't decided to try to hand quilt it or have it quilted, or maybe just tack it, but I have lots and lots and lots and lots of time to decide that.....anyway, so begins the journey of my quilt.