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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Memories from My First Official Quilt Class

The year was 2002...

Time, was finally going to allow for me to take a class and learn about this crazy quilting kick I was about to venture into.

 
An Irish Chain Quilt
 
We had to pick out 5 fabrics and our background...
We loaded up our embroidery machines and headed to the shop.
 
 
I will never forget watching the instructor, tap dancing around telling me my color choices were horrible.

 
She hated the grayish purple fabric, but I knew it "all" then. After all, I had never really had any real quilt training before that. So at that point I really did think I knew it all...  LOL!!
 
My crazy quiltin' sista, Ruth had a new long arm, and was all to willing to quilt it for me, silly girl. Wonder just how straight it really was? I think for a long arm newbie, she did a fabulous job.
 
Now about those colors!
I must admit, while it probably is not the best choice on earth, I still love it.
Maybe it's just that "first quilt" high we all get!
LOL!
Sorry quilt instructor, Kate!
I know you were right, but I just didn't know it at the time!
:-)
 
 
 
 
 

9 comments:

  1. This is a real trip down memory lane! For your first quilt this is damn good! And we all have to start somewhere!

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  2. She was wrong then and she's still wrong. The quilt is beautiful!

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  3. I think the color combo is great. and your corners are wonderful.better than lots of people after years of practice ( read that as Me). The quilting is pretty darn fine too. Fun memory.

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  4. What an awesome first quilt! And "whaaaat??" For its color scheme, the fabrics are awesome. It's not an "in" scheme right now, but the colors go very well with the prints for cohesion and interest. Love how Ruth quilted it!

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  5. Heck, I thought this was a new quilt...gray is such an "in" color right now! I love the calm feeling this quilt evokes...like a quiet, misty morning in early spring. Personally, I like the colors and the quilt - awesome piecing and quilting!!

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  6. Quilts are a personal choice. Gray is the new "wh ite." You were very forward thinking back then - you just didn't know it. My daughter wants me to make her a t-shirt quilt from her sorority t-shirts from college. I'm trying to keep my trap quiet and let her pick the fabric she wants and let her pick her layout. I'm not having any luck in getting her to settle on anything. I want to get this project started. I'm not in any hurry to actually start the project except I'm having eye issues and don't know if I'll be able to quilt any more. She asks me to do very few projects for her and I'd like to be able to complete it for her. I'm having double vision, so you can image the challenge of even threading a needle. Personally I'd select some blues as they were her sorority colors - she's leaning toward gray. Yeah, it's her quilt. She knows the issue and if she never gets the quilt, it's on her. I'm going all I can to facilitate it as my eyesight declines by the day. Your quilt is fantastic and your friend did a great job quilting it. I've never finished my first quilt. All the blocks are pieced and applique. It was to be lap quilted using the Georgia Bonesteel method. My first husband told me from across my large living room that one of the applique blocks was off center. He prove to me using my seam gauge that it was off 1/16". So, I put it up and never worked on it again. We divorced years later and didn't speak until recently after over 15 years. I mentioned to him how much that hurt my feelings. He said he prided himself that he had that ability to know that he could tell things like that and he was amazed that I could humanly get it that close. I thought my work didn't measure up to his standard and had stopped. Funnee how perspectives are different and when you don't talk about it how far apart they really are. Some people have encouraged me to get it out and finish it and others tell me some quilts are meant not to be finished. Maybe I need to at least look at it. One thing I don't like is that the back is plain muslin - what we typically used in the 80's. And I don't like the stitching on the back joining the blocks by hand. It's all by hand and used plastic templates by hand. No rotary cutters or mats - everything was done by hand, of course. Thanks for sharing your first quilt - it's amazing. It's fun to see how far you have come and your awesome progression.

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  7. There is absolutely nothing wrong with those colors and I think it turned out great.

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  8. It's nice to see you picked an easy pattern for your first quilt!!! (little bit of sarcasm there!!) Holy moly, you sure do believe in "in for a penny, in for a pound" don't you?! I think it looks fantastic and quite impressive.

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  9. I LOVE your color choices!! What a wonderful first quilt.
    I had a similar experience with my first quilt instructor. It was 20 years ago when mauve, country blue and peach were all the rave and when I came in with black, white, gray and red, my poor little instructor, in her 70's at the time, nearly keeled over!!! She tried really hard to discourage me, but I dug my heels in and kept my choices. Everyone else in the class kept to what SHE had suggested. We made a sampler quilt and in the end, she really loved it and ASKED to borrow it for future classes!!!! I am so proud of that quilt, all hand pieced and hand quilted!!

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Thanks for stopping by today. Your comments really do make me day!
;-)