My First Quilt

I am taking part in Camille and Carrie's Parade of Quilts, each participant shows their first and most recent quilt.

I can't quite decide if the first quilt I started is the first or third quilt I finished. In the middle of making the one below I started to design and make two quilts for the twin girls my sister was expecting, so it was finished after quilts 2 and 3.

I attend Croston Quilters in Lancashire and the amazing ladies Anne and Janet patiently and painstakingly talked me through each stage of making this quilt. When I first talked to Anne she said it would take six meetings to finish the quilt - but she did not know me! I can't just make one thing at a time and so it took me around a year to finally finish it. Anne is the reason I am precise when cutting and sewing, if my sewing was not straight enough or the seam allowance was wrong it was ripped out and I started over again. It's the best teaching I could have had. But alas I no longer have it, my mum loved the lap quilt so much I gave it to her as a present.

My most recent quilt was a present for my cousin's son for his first birthday and it is based on the Melly & Me Scrappy Cabin Quilt Challenge. For this quilt I decided any colour could be used except pink, but I did manage to sneak a little bit in. It's 52x42" and is for a cot bed.

The top is pieced from pre-loved fabric, scraps and fabric from my stash. It's the second time I have quilted free-motion, I found the quilting pattern in the amazing book Simple Traditions, author Kim Diehl calls the pattern cinnamon rolls and I found it a lot easier to quilt than stippling and more fun than quilting in the ditch. The label is pieced into the back and that's another first for me.

Have a good week.

Gx