I've been on a no-buy plan for awhile, trying to clear out some of my enormous stash. I'm also trying to clear out some of those old UFOs, so hopefully you'll see some completed projects here in the next few weeks.
I did manage to get one stack of heart blocks sewn together into a lap quilt and quilted. I made these heart blocks years ago at a retreat when I finished the project I had brought with me. All I had left to work on was the leftover scraps, so I made scrappy hearts. Those poor hearts went directly into storage when they came home. I ran across them the other day when I was cleaning out some boxes. I had eight of them so I made a house block for the middle (hearts and homes are meant to be together, right? I quilted it using Ann Bright's Ivy pattern and quite like the finished quilt. It will probably end up being donated to a local senior's home at Christmas time.
One UFO done - what's next?
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Getting started
My interest in quilting started many years ago - probably about 35. I loved the way fabrics just felt so much cozier when layered with batting - of course in those days the only batting I knew about was polyester. Its possible that was all that existed at that time, I'm not sure.
Anyway, I signed up for a quilting class with the local school board and took my first quilting class. The first class, the instructor discussed fabrics and highly recommended that we buy a 65/35 polycotton blend. She warned us about fabric that was out there that was 100% cotton and told us not to buy that. It wasn't as strong as polycotton and it would wrinkle.
That first class we were shown how to make a maple leaf block. We were each to make one block and then we split the cost of the background, batting and background fabric. The instructor took our blocks home and one of the last classes were learned how to hand quilt on that quilt. At the last class, all our names went into a hat and one name was drawn. I'm not very lucky in draws, but I did win that quilt and proudly took it home that evening, partially quilted.
I invested in a quilting hoop and finished quilting it, but we were never shown how to do the binding. So, when the quilting was finished, I stuffed that quilt into a plastic bag and it lived in the bottom of my closet. Then, life happened - my marriage ended, and over the next few years I moved several times - shlepping that quilt with me wherever I moved to.
After several years of living of closets, that poor quilt was attacked by my daughters pet gerbel. Unfortunately, polyester batting doesn't digest so well, and the gerbel was laid to rest shortly after the attack (I guess that quilt won after all). Now I had an unfinished quilt with holes in it - what to do??? Well, we had been shown how to applique, so I appliqued hearts over the holes and then added a few more so those two hearts wouldn't look so lonely. But it was time to finally finish the quilt and I took another quilt class - this time at a local quilt shop, and this time I made a point of learning how to bind a quilt. Ta-da . . . after all those years, I finally had a quilt! I loved that quilt, and I truly wish I still had it, but as I mentioned earlier, life happens, and I truly don't remember what ever happened to it, but it served me well for many years!
Anyway, I signed up for a quilting class with the local school board and took my first quilting class. The first class, the instructor discussed fabrics and highly recommended that we buy a 65/35 polycotton blend. She warned us about fabric that was out there that was 100% cotton and told us not to buy that. It wasn't as strong as polycotton and it would wrinkle.
That first class we were shown how to make a maple leaf block. We were each to make one block and then we split the cost of the background, batting and background fabric. The instructor took our blocks home and one of the last classes were learned how to hand quilt on that quilt. At the last class, all our names went into a hat and one name was drawn. I'm not very lucky in draws, but I did win that quilt and proudly took it home that evening, partially quilted.
I invested in a quilting hoop and finished quilting it, but we were never shown how to do the binding. So, when the quilting was finished, I stuffed that quilt into a plastic bag and it lived in the bottom of my closet. Then, life happened - my marriage ended, and over the next few years I moved several times - shlepping that quilt with me wherever I moved to.
After several years of living of closets, that poor quilt was attacked by my daughters pet gerbel. Unfortunately, polyester batting doesn't digest so well, and the gerbel was laid to rest shortly after the attack (I guess that quilt won after all). Now I had an unfinished quilt with holes in it - what to do??? Well, we had been shown how to applique, so I appliqued hearts over the holes and then added a few more so those two hearts wouldn't look so lonely. But it was time to finally finish the quilt and I took another quilt class - this time at a local quilt shop, and this time I made a point of learning how to bind a quilt. Ta-da . . . after all those years, I finally had a quilt! I loved that quilt, and I truly wish I still had it, but as I mentioned earlier, life happens, and I truly don't remember what ever happened to it, but it served me well for many years!
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