Quilt in a Day...Well... Episode 2 [Thursday 13]

If you remember from our last episode here, I chronicled my journey into (and back out of) the world of quilting.  Well, I may have cracked the code...maybe.

Here are thirteen steps to making your first real quilt:

1. Take sewing lessons in high school and learn nothing useful besides threading the machine and backtacking.  Thanks angry, hateful, impatient "teacher" who will remain nameless but everyone who went to Jacksonville High School (AL) in the 80's and took Home Ec will know who I'm talking about.
2. Watch several years of quilting shows on PBS and get lots of information and inspiration you can't do anything with (see #1).
3. Take a beginning level adult quilting class that isn't one.
4. Buy almost $100 worth of quilting supplies you don't know how to use and really can't afford.
5. Take a couple more sessions of "beginners" class that still isn't one.
6. Cuss a lot and make absolutely nothing.
7. Quit the class before you punch someone in the throat, and stuff expensive quilting supplies in a closet to gather dust.
8. Watch more quilting videos on TV and later, the internet, for about a decade.
9. Dust off your supplies and make butt ugly quilts you wouldn't take to a rat killing, but donate them anyway because the fabric was expensive and the items were needed.
10. Find other uses for quilting equipment.  Examples:  Use your cutting mat as a mat under your painting easel, use your rotary cutter and lip-edged ruler to cut paper cards, and use your quilting thread to patch and sew buttons back on clothes.  Oh yeah, and use your sewing machine to make diaper bags.  Hey, it's something.
11. Give up on real quilting and resolve to make crochet quilts (as mentioned in episode 1).
12. Make a new friend who quilts and gives you the best advice ever given--to take your time and do what works for YOU.
13. Throw out the rule book of "ought"s and "should"s and finish a real quilt.

And here it is.


Around the World Baby Quilt










The back label.

So what's next?  More study and practice to improve on the techniques I've already learned. And MORE REAL QUILTS!

Episodes in this series (so far):

Episode 1 is here.
Episode 3 is here