The Journey #1

As I look back at my earliest quilts I can see where I came from and the journey that has brought me from my earliest work to today.

The very first quilts I made, I gave away--a few were baby quilts, 1985-1986. The first bed-size quilt I made, in 1985, was a Trip Around the World--the pattern came from a Family Circle  magazine--the article was called "Make a Quilt in a Day". My notes say it took me 15 hours. All the 4.5" strips were cut by hand with scissors--I had not discovered the rotary cutter yet. It was tied with yarn. I know it is here in my house somewhere, I just can't find it at the moment.

Here are a few of  my quilts, from the early years in Virginia:

1. Double Irish Chain--1987

This was a kit from Hearthside Quilts--all pieces pre-cut--I ordered it from their mail-order catalog. The piecing was easy but I remember being disappointed in the "Rose" fabric--that was not my idea of what "rose" fabric looked like. Of course, I hand quilted it and the two extra block pillows. They sit in my studio in that same rocking chair. 

When it was time to bind this quilt, it did not make sense to me to cut off the perfectly good extra back fabric, only to sew on a binding to the front. So I brought the back to the front and hand-stitched it in place. When I entered it in the first quilt show of the Virginia Star Quilters guild, the person who collected it from me said "You don't know how to do an applied binding, do you?" I had the perfect answer "Apparently, not.". She said "I'll teach you" and I never brought the back to the front again--but I do save that perfectly good fabric that is cut off when the quilt is finished--I can always use it for something.

2. "Peaceful Slumber" Baby Quilt--1987

A mail-order pattern, I stenciled the designs using fabric paint then hand-quilted it. I must have really liked this pattern, my notes say I made 3 of them that year. This one I made and kept for my "baby", Andy, who was 7 in 1987. It's time to give this to him for his new baby son, Sam. The fabric is a very cheap poly/blend fabric, the batting is polyester, all my early quilts had polyester batting. Easy to hand quilt, not so lovely to sleep under. And my early binding technique leaves a lot to be desired--I was still learning.

3. Ohio Star--Lap Quilted--1987

This quilt is SO 1980's--that mauve fabric, only three prints, two of which are opposites of each other, rose on white, white on rose, and muslin. But see how it matches the mauve sofa?

As my quilts got bigger, I tried "Lap Quilting"--today we call this "Quilt As You Go:QAYG". Georgia Bonesteel made it a popular method. 

 Here you can just barely see the seams on the back--they were all turned under and sewn by hand with "blind" or "applique'" stitches--today it is all done by machine. This was my first and last QAYG.

The quilting design in the sashing is from the first stencil I ever bought. I still have it and like the simple feather/heart design:

4. Trip Around the World--1988

The first quilt I hand-quilted on a floor frame. This is also SO 1980s'--rose, blue, white, and a large blue floral--by now, I was learning to use a print to help me select the other fabrics.

I kept track of my time: "Begun September 4, 1987: 25 hours machine piecing. 2 hours basting (3 people). Began quilting November 20, 1987 on a frame borrowed from a neighbor. 175  hours hand quilting, 1.5 spools of thread, 7.5 hours binding. Total time: 209.5 hours. Completed May 26, 1988."

I designed the simple pumpkin seed quilting in the body and a vine motif for the borders, I still have those stencils, made from freezer paper and cardboard:

5. Amish Miniatures--1987-1988

One of the lucky things that happened for me was I discovered the Virginia Star Quilters of Fredericksburg, VA, about a year into my quilting journey. There were about 25 members, I was the baby, and they kindly took me under their wing, answering my incessant questions each month at our evening meeting. During this time the statewide guild was founded, the Virginia Consortium of Quilters. We met quarterly in different parts of the state and I got to go with my quilting friends to several of those meetings--where I got to take workshops! A chance to really learn new techniques and/or "best practices" of quiltmaking. I was like a sponge at those events.

Back at home, a few of us had weekly "quilt dates" and for a while we worked on quilts from the book An Amish Adventure by Roberta Horton--still available today. I still believe small quilts are a great way for the new quilter to learn--by the time these were all done I had mastered the basics of binding, my quilting was much better, and members of the group shared leftover batting so I could try several different varieties to determine my favorite. For young moms, money is often tight and it was so helpful to get those giveaways.

Amish quilts were the first I ever saw--on a Girl Scout trip to Lancaster County when I was about 10 years old. I was just starting to sew then and was captivated by the bold colors and strong designs in these quilts. But I thought I was too impatient to ever make one. Twenty years would go by before the bug bit, but from then on, it was all quilting, all the time.

Thanks for coming along on my trip down memory lane. I hope you have photos and information on your early work too. Each of these has either a label sewn on or my name and the year written on the back in permanent marker--many times I have needed those dates to refresh my memory.

Let's quilt!

Barbara