My first quilt was from a bag of striped squares I picked up at a garage sale..one evening, totally bored went up to "my little attic" sewing room and sewed them into rows, alternating the stripe directions-using 5/8" seam allowance- had only sewn clothing prior to this, but the rows matched and ended up with enough to cover a dbl bed...found some cotton in my fab stash and cut out a border....that fit too! I was so proud of myself, I went to my next door neighbor, who was a prolific quilter, and she explained...she would get me a batt and she had a sheet that would work as the back....and I could tie each corner with yarn....had lots of that as crocheting was my thing then too. So I finished it, even put on binding, with neighbors instructions...btw, still have it and use occasionally. That was well over 20 yrs ago. Then the fun began...shooting for "tools,fabric, books and gadgets". I was a "regular" at JAF.
my next was a QAYG of Roman stripes of scrapes and natural muslin...saw in a good housekeeping mag, that was fun, I had learned from reading that one used a 1/4" seam allowances! Gave that to gd, then a drunkards path- to another gd. Then lady of the lake which I handquilted(was my relaxation therapy after office all day)...took me over a year, but then entered into local county fair and rec'd a blue ribbon......I was shocked and totally hooked! ........and the saga continues...I like to challenge myself to trying different techniques, but some things I completely steer clear of, I want to enjoy, not get frustrated with....that's my story and I'm sticking to it!