My Very First Quilt

My Very First Quilt!!

No one in my family (that I have met) has ever made a quilt.  I had a grandmother who sewed clothing; but no one that quilted.

Back in the 90's, the Walmart in our area had a huge fabric section in the back of the store.  They had lots of space to showcase their fabrics.  There were tables that would each exhibit different fabrics.  But what caught my eye was the way they would stack the fabric on the table.  They really knew how to market their fabric.  You could just "see" a quilt; and I was a novice.  How I loved to walk by the fabric department:).   I would walk by and think, "I want to make a quilt one day".

One day as I walked by, there was a table that had NFL fabrics on them.  Now, my brother is one of those fans that is fanatically dedicated to his team.   His team is the Dallas Cowboys.  On this table, on the top of the pile of fabrics, was about three different types of Dallas Cowboy fabric.  I stood looking at them for awhile and decided I wanted to make a quilt for my brother, but I did not know how.

One of the sales ladies came by and asked if I needed any help.  I explained my dilemma; and she assured   me that all quilts did not have to be complicated,   I could make this first quilt very simple by making 12" blocks.

So, I bought all three fabrics and decided to make my first quilt.

I went home with my purchase and cut out my first squares with scissors.  I dug out my grandmother's old Singer sewing machine, and went to work.  Needless to say, the squares weren't "square", the seams were not straight, but I managed to get the quilt together.

I decided I would put everything together and turn it inside out.  I worked that out okay but then I decided to top quilt it by stitching in the ditch.  (I now know you should quilt it first).  Needless to say, the back did not look too good.  However, I was proud that I managed to get it all together by myself.

When I gave the quilt to my brother he LOVED it!  He actually still has the quilt!

Needless to say, this started something big.  I now know how to use a rotary cutter and cutting mat.  I haven't graduated to the cutting machines yet; but I plan to in the future.  I have updated my machine to a Janome that I absolutely love:) And I now own a lot of rulers!

I still love to buy fabric and have a rather large stash.  My husband said it would be best if I got a drug habit; he thinks it would be cheaper:)!  However, I would not be as happy.

I have come a long way since that first quilt, and the feeling I get every time I complete one just keeps me looking forward to the next one.

What kind of memories do you have of your first quilt, and what got you started?