Sunday, June 13, 2010

My First Quilt

While a quilter's very first quilt may not be her most inventive, it may not be her prettiest, it may not be her most well-constructed quilt, by virtue of being first, it always holds a special place.

The Rose Star quilt was my first quilt. Ever since I was a child admiring my great grandmother's scrappy quilts, I knew that one day, I would make a scrappy quilt of my own. I collected fabric scraps from the seamstresses in my family (primarily my paternal grandmother), and daydreamed about starting a quilt. However, I never managed to get organized. It was the worsening of already rather significant allergies that severely curtailed the time I could spend outdoors which finally pushed me to start the quilt. I decided that if I couldn't be outside, I needed a positive inside project to keep from losing my mind. Quilting has been my escape ever since.

The Rose Star pattern came from a Traditional Quiltworks magazine. (I don't think it is being published any more.) The original pattern was scrappy like mine above, but where I have blue points on the perimeter of each "rose", their pattern showed green. Green points did make it look more rose-like, but hey even a newbie has to make a pattern her own.

My Rose Star quilt is hand-pieced with the exception of the outer, white border and the binding, although the binding is whipped down by hand on the back. It is also hand-quilted. It never occurred to me to use the sewing machine. In thinking back, trying to remember why I made the choice to hand-piece and hand-quilt, I think there were several reasons: 1.) Old sewing machine that was temperamental, 2.) Very limited experience with sewing machines in general, 3.) I wanted to feel at one with my pioneer ancestors (yeah, I realize that sounds hokey, but it was true), 4.) I wanted to be able to do my project anywhere and a hand project is much more portable than a machine project.


The quilt is not made with 100% cotton fabrics. Oh, I'm sure a lot of them are, but not all. I didn't realize that most quilters use only 100% cotton. So there are some poly-cotton blends, and even a piece of 100% polyester faux suede. Guess what? The quilting police never took me away.

I honestly do not remember how long it took me to finish this quilt. I believe I started it in 1995. I know it took me 3 winters to quilt it (I don't quilt during the warm months because I hold the quilts on my lap). I know it was finished by the time we moved away from Kansas to escape the allergies in 2002. And it is residing on my bed now.

16 comments:

  1. That looks pretty complicated for a first quilt. Great job. The more I learn about quilting the more I realise that it really is a learning process.

    I've never hand quilted anything, so you're one up on me! (I dont even hand sew the back of my binding although I keep promising I'll do that one day )

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  2. sometimes first quilts are the ones we like and enjoy the most for years to come.
    Some of my quilts have taken a long time to quilt as well.
    Karen
    http://karensquilting.com/blog/

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  3. That is a beautiful quilt, and definitely an ambitious project for a beginner! I'm impressed that you did all that by hand. It's a beautiful pattern for a scrappy quilt!!

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  4. Michelle,

    You are amazing! That's first quilt of yours is IMPRESSIVE!

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  5. That is very beutiful. I can't imagine doing something like that the very first time.

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  6. I too am amazed by the complexity of the pattern you chose for your first quilt--all those points and angles! It's really lovely, and you did your pioneer ancestors proud!

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  7. What a wonderful quilt with a wonderful story, Michelle! I, too, used poly blends for my first quilt and thought I'd go crazy with raveling from those fabrics. Live and learn, huh? ;)

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  8. Michelle,

    Thanks for the kind words on my embroidered piece. Thanks also for giving me the link to Colorado Lady. I will try to get the stain out tomorrow, if it doesn't work, I will be contacting Colorado Lady! ;)

    Thanks again.

    Have a wonderful night.

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  9. Found your site after reading Sunshine, Paradise. I think your 1st quilt is wonderful. I bet it carries a lot of memories with it. I also scrolled down and saw your NY Beauty! It is a beauty!

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  10. It looks like a complicated quilt for a newbie. You've done it very well - it's lovely! All that work and time put into it, you surely love it more than any other quilts you've made! I love the story behind it. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. That is an amazing first quilt! Wow! You put lots of love into these quilts.

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  12. I'm so impressed -- all done by hand! That is a really amazing project. I love that you made it totally your own. I think it is beautiful!

    Oh, and thanks for changing your comment settings!

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  13. It's a beautiful 'first quilt', much more difficult that my first quilt, and all hand done. Wow! I'm loving it! ~karen

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  14. I love this quilt! It looks like quite a tricksy pattern for a first go - well done! And for doing the hand quilting too!

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  15. I love that! I can't believe you hand pieced it! WOW.

    I have yet to quilt and bind my first quilt (baby sized, mind you) because the top turned out so much better than I expected that I am afraid I'll mess it up when I finish it! Haha! How did you learn how to do everything?

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  16. Wow, what a great first quilt. I remember that magazine and I really liked it alot. Too bad they had to stop.

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Your comments brighten my day. :-)