BKrenning

I wanted a quilt for our brand new king size bed & didn't like the colors or prices of Walmart quilts. I had sewn clothing for myself & kids many years ago and fabric was only $1 per yard back then so I thought I was saving money! I had fabric left over from those days and started hand piecing a Grandmother's Flower Garden. I soon realized I might not live long enough to finish a hand pieced & scissor cut GFG so decided to try something smaller. I found a pattern at McCall's on line--Dove at the Window--made cardboard templates and started cutting it out again with scissors from 10 year old fabric in my clothing stash & hand piecing it. Hubby kept teasing & nagging me to use the sewing machine he had bought for me 6-7 years previously. He was also nagging me about using the dining room table to lay out the fabric on while cutting. He seems to think the dining room table is only for eating & letting the mail accumulate on.

Anyway, I also discovered Simply Quilts on television & when I ran out of patience with hubby's nagging; I broke down and bought a rotary cutter & cutting mat and had him setup a spare table we had in the family room so I could set my sewing machine up and use my new toys. The sewing machine had been used by my sister to make something with red flannel and it was covered with red fuzz & constantly jammed so another delay while it went to be repaired. While I waited for it to be fixed--I became obsessed with Simply Quilts and every magazine I could get my hands on. Even old ones from the 1980's that MIL had found somewhere in her hoard.

Eventually, my machine got repaired and a grandbaby was born so I had to make a quilt for her before I had even finished that modified Dove in the Window quilt. I did everything wrong & had everything go wrong that possibly could but I struggled through it all.

I finished the baby quilt first and her mother was so happy with my very amateur skills that it just fed my obsession. I had 3 quilts going at one time and then found the quilting groups on yahoo and joined a paper piecing block swap. I was in way over my head & loving every minute of it. I loved every step of the process except for piecing the backings which I overcame by using sheets & making double sided quilts.