my first quilt

I loved Camille and Carrie's idea for the parade of quilts so here goes my contribution!

This was my very first quilt that I ever completed. It was made for my long anticipated niece, Rachel (who is now 12!). The picture is not great so I will explain. The center was a Precious Moments cross-stitch quilt kit that I bought when I found out my sister was pregnant. I was SO excited to become an Aunt for the first time! It took me a lot longer to complete than I thought it would. It was quite a project. I ended up not having it done when she was born, or turning 1, 2, or 3! When Rachel was 3 I found out that I was expecting my first child so I thought I better get to work on that quilt for Rachel. By this time she was too big for the little center quilt that was originally intended so I enlisted the help of a friend who knew how to quilt to help me figure out a way to make it larger. She really came up with the plan and I got to work. I had been collecting fabrics from our local Laura Ashley store and I used those to finish off the quilt. I tied it and I don't think I would do that again unless I was in a terrible rush. I also did a horrible job on the binding. I can say though that it was given with much love to Rachel on her 4th birthday and she still has it in her room!

This is my most recent COMPLETED quilt project! I made this little quilt as part of a get well kit for a friend of mine's daughter who was in a terrible accident. You can read about it here.

This is one of my very first quilts also. I think my second, but it was started during the time I was working on my first, so it is also kind of my first if that makes any sense!! Basically meaning that they were both done when I didn't have any idea what I was doing but knew I wanted to make a quilt!! This is the quilt where I learned that there is such a thing as a rotary cutter and you don't have to cut each square out by hand!! HA ha ha! (I guess I am a slow learner who does things the hard way at first!) This quilt still needs it's binding. I had just picked it up from finally having it machine quilted when we moved (again) from PA to NC. We have been here 2 years now and it still sits binding-less, but it is still close to my heart and won't be without it's binding forever! None of the corners match up on this quilt and I was a little embarrassed when I took it in to be quilted, but when I picked it up, the lady at the quilt shop told me how everyone had commented on the pretty bright colors while it was in the machine being quilted in the shop. I do love yellow!

This is my most recent quilt project that is not yet completed! It is a portion of the quilt from the quilt along at Old Red Barn. I used Anna Maria Horner's Garden Party and a couple of fabrics from her Good Folks line. I think I am going to love it! It will actually be 6 blocks by 7 blocks when I am finished. Can't wait!

I think that over the years I have learned that it's nice to be exact when making a quilt, but it's not the end of the world if you're not. I love to make quilts for the sheer enjoyment of it. Another quilt that I did not post but will have to post some time is the one that my Grandmother (Hazel) used to teach me how to quilt. I would drive an hour with my little boy who was just a toddler at the time to go spend the day with her and we would talk about how to quilt and eventually she showed me and taught me, specifically about how to do a 9 patch and hand quilt. Those are very special memories to me that I treasure as she is now gone. I think quilting is a way to give back joy and love to others and I try to do that when I make a quilt as a gift. My Grandmother used to make quilts for fundraiser auctions for their church and they would always bring in a lot of $$, which she loved. Sure, over the years I have learned to be more technical with my quilt making, but mostly I hope that through the quilts that I create that love and joy will flow through them to future generations.