How did you catch the quilting bug? Who taught you to quilt?
01-15-2021, 11:46 PM
#51
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: central TX
Posts: 3,076
Sewed clothes in my 20s & 30s when kids weren't in school yet, then went back to work. When the last kid was in high school & right after mom passed I wanted to do something with her cottons & added more from my kid s clothes & had enough for a California King sampler with prairie points using Marcia Hahn's QuiltBlocksGalore.com patterns I accidentally found online. Received a pack of 2" charms as a gift from Blue Star Mothers & googled what to do with the precious charms so I joined QB & The Curious Quilter to learn about swapping charms & enlarged my stash & charms. I used Missouri Star Co. tutorials, & Quilting Board seasoned quilters instructions & info on putting together a postage stamp quilt (1.5" finished!). QB friends challenged me to do an applique from an "ugly" pattern but I changed the colors to suit my home motif using batiks & got thumbs up so I kept going. I joined QB Birthday swap to build charms, joined Quilts of Valor in which we liaised with in hospital military overseas by sending them fabric, rulers, patterns, etc. they'd complete the blocks & send to us which we turned into quilts & sent them back to their hospital for distribution. In the 2020 pandemic did face masks for locals (under 500 folks in town here) & also made Christmas ornaments (the folded type on styrofoam ball). Current project is a Row by Row cotton license plate quilt from all the places we've been quilt shop hopping over the last 7 years. It is for my DHs vehicle, complete with pillow & bag. 3 yrs ago hubby bought me a longarm, yippee! Quilt Something!
hugs,
dj
hugs,
dj
06-07-2021, 03:10 PM
#52
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2021
Location: British Columbia
Posts: 589
Hi there,
This seems like a good place to make a first post. :-)
Like others have said, I grew up with Laura Ingalls Wilder and became more interested in quilting the more I encountered it in fiction. My first hands-on experience was at Girl Guide Camp when I was 10 or 11, helping out with what I remember as a folk art style quilt of a camping scene - all the campers on our site got to help stitch one of the motifs on. There wasn't a clear path to the next step in quilting for me - I made a couple of doll-sized quilts out of random shirts, sheets, and dresses that were ready for the rag bag and cobbled together a Hallowe'en costume or two, but it was never anything more than playing with a sewing machine (I don't think a single doll ever slept under one of my quilts). In my early 20s, I went with a friend to a class held at a local quilt shop - how to make a "quillow." It was tied and is still in use on my dog's bed as a pillow only as she scratched the blanket part to shreds over the years. After that, I found myself buying and playing with fabric more and more and slowly building up a collection to draw from. For a few years, I spent some of my free time piecing tops together but really having no idea where to go from there, so I put them away for "later." I think I completed two or three smaller projects. Then life got busy and everything got put away for even later. Now it's much much later and a year and a bit ago I was very happy with myself for keeping at least some of that lovely hoarded fabric safely tucked away. I've been quilting pretty steadily since last March and have six quilts under my belt so far during this pandemic season. Quilting has been one of the best things to come out of a year with so many challenges and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can learn from the discussions here. :-)
This seems like a good place to make a first post. :-)
Like others have said, I grew up with Laura Ingalls Wilder and became more interested in quilting the more I encountered it in fiction. My first hands-on experience was at Girl Guide Camp when I was 10 or 11, helping out with what I remember as a folk art style quilt of a camping scene - all the campers on our site got to help stitch one of the motifs on. There wasn't a clear path to the next step in quilting for me - I made a couple of doll-sized quilts out of random shirts, sheets, and dresses that were ready for the rag bag and cobbled together a Hallowe'en costume or two, but it was never anything more than playing with a sewing machine (I don't think a single doll ever slept under one of my quilts). In my early 20s, I went with a friend to a class held at a local quilt shop - how to make a "quillow." It was tied and is still in use on my dog's bed as a pillow only as she scratched the blanket part to shreds over the years. After that, I found myself buying and playing with fabric more and more and slowly building up a collection to draw from. For a few years, I spent some of my free time piecing tops together but really having no idea where to go from there, so I put them away for "later." I think I completed two or three smaller projects. Then life got busy and everything got put away for even later. Now it's much much later and a year and a bit ago I was very happy with myself for keeping at least some of that lovely hoarded fabric safely tucked away. I've been quilting pretty steadily since last March and have six quilts under my belt so far during this pandemic season. Quilting has been one of the best things to come out of a year with so many challenges and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can learn from the discussions here. :-)
Last edited by Gemm; 06-07-2021 at 03:13 PM. Reason: typo!
06-08-2021, 01:55 AM
#53
Super Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,636
Welcome to the quilting board
Originally Posted by Gemm
Hi there,
This seems like a good place to make a first post. :-)
Like others have said, I grew up with Laura Ingalls Wilder and became more interested in quilting the more I encountered it in fiction. My first hands-on experience was at Girl Guide Camp when I was 10 or 11, helping out with what I remember as a folk art style quilt of a camping scene - all the campers on our site got to help stitch one of the motifs on. There wasn't a clear path to the next step in quilting for me - I made a couple of doll-sized quilts out of random shirts, sheets, and dresses that were ready for the rag bag and cobbled together a Hallowe'en costume or two, but it was never anything more than playing with a sewing machine (I don't think a single doll ever slept under one of my quilts). In my early 20s, I went with a friend to a class held at a local quilt shop - how to make a "quillow." It was tied and is still in use on my dog's bed as a pillow only as she scratched the blanket part to shreds over the years. After that, I found myself buying and playing with fabric more and more and slowly building up a collection to draw from. For a few years, I spent some of my free time piecing tops together but really having no idea where to go from there, so I put them away for "later." I think I completed two or three smaller projects. Then life got busy and everything got put away for even later. Now it's much much later and a year and a bit ago I was very happy with myself for keeping at least some of that lovely hoarded fabric safely tucked away. I've been quilting pretty steadily since last March and have six quilts under my belt so far during this pandemic season. Quilting has been one of the best things to come out of a year with so many challenges and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can learn from the discussions here. :-)
This seems like a good place to make a first post. :-)
Like others have said, I grew up with Laura Ingalls Wilder and became more interested in quilting the more I encountered it in fiction. My first hands-on experience was at Girl Guide Camp when I was 10 or 11, helping out with what I remember as a folk art style quilt of a camping scene - all the campers on our site got to help stitch one of the motifs on. There wasn't a clear path to the next step in quilting for me - I made a couple of doll-sized quilts out of random shirts, sheets, and dresses that were ready for the rag bag and cobbled together a Hallowe'en costume or two, but it was never anything more than playing with a sewing machine (I don't think a single doll ever slept under one of my quilts). In my early 20s, I went with a friend to a class held at a local quilt shop - how to make a "quillow." It was tied and is still in use on my dog's bed as a pillow only as she scratched the blanket part to shreds over the years. After that, I found myself buying and playing with fabric more and more and slowly building up a collection to draw from. For a few years, I spent some of my free time piecing tops together but really having no idea where to go from there, so I put them away for "later." I think I completed two or three smaller projects. Then life got busy and everything got put away for even later. Now it's much much later and a year and a bit ago I was very happy with myself for keeping at least some of that lovely hoarded fabric safely tucked away. I've been quilting pretty steadily since last March and have six quilts under my belt so far during this pandemic season. Quilting has been one of the best things to come out of a year with so many challenges and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can learn from the discussions here. :-)
06-08-2021, 07:49 AM
#54
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Keller, TX
Posts: 1,912
Quilt in a day many years ago.....then changing techniques, tools and free motion on my own with guidance from on line demos. I have found, like everything in life practice, and mistakes, help you learn.
06-08-2021, 11:41 AM
#55
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2021
Location: British Columbia
Posts: 589
Thanks for the encouragement, Copycat! :-) I've been lurking for a week or two, mostly following the UFO and Fabric Moratorium threads, but am slowly exploring other areas as well (in between sewing sessions, of course).
06-09-2021, 03:16 AM
#56
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Vermont
Posts: 6,980
I sewed clothing from middle school on and saved all my scraps. Always wanted to make a quilt. When I met my DH, he was a "let's get it done" kind of person. I taught him how to cut pieces and use the machine. There was one stretch when I was sick in bed with mono and he came over to keep me company and worked on the quilt (before we got married).
I tried to figure out how to hand quilt by myself but not much luck. I took a one-hour lesson from Nancy Halpern and it all became clear. That was the sum total of my "quilt education". DH was good at math and making patterns, he did all the cutting and machine work, I did the designing and hand quilting.
I tried to figure out how to hand quilt by myself but not much luck. I took a one-hour lesson from Nancy Halpern and it all became clear. That was the sum total of my "quilt education". DH was good at math and making patterns, he did all the cutting and machine work, I did the designing and hand quilting.
06-09-2021, 05:54 AM
#57
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Gaylord, MN
Posts: 3,938
My mother, 4-H and Home Ec in school taught me to quilt. The rest was learn as you go. My quilt group (8 of us) also has helped. With all the technology out there, that is another good tool to get ideas and learn how some things are done. Good luck and enjoy the journey.
