The Fat Quarter Shop, and Pat Sloan thought it would be fun for us bloggers to share the story of our first quilt. There are several AMAZING quilters sewing along for this one, so I encourage you to check out all the links below, I'm pretty sure there are going to be some epic stories!!
I got my first sewing machine from Walmart, it was a little Brother machine, that was under $100, and I had no idea how to use it. I had never even seen a sewing machine, and since nobody in my family ever quilted, I had no idea where to start.
Several months before that I had gone to a wedding shower for my BFF, Jody. As she began opening her gifts, one of them sitting on the gift table really caught my eye, it was a stack of square cloth wrapped in a bright bow. As I listened, I learned they were from her Great Aunt Franny, she explained that many years ago people used to transport grains, seeds, flour and animal feed in fabric sacks. It didn't take long for the thrifty farm wives to discover that those sacks could be used to make clothes, toys, diapers, dish rags, and...... yes, you guessed it QUILTS! Aunt Franny had saved them, and gifted them to Jody to be used again in a modern day journey. I loved this story!
I was jealous, I wanted my own pile of feed sack fabric and I wanted to learn so much more about how to make things with my own hands!!
However, quilting wasn't exactly a happenin' kind of hobby among 20 year old girls, and since nobody in my own family did anything like this, I decided I would have to teach myself!
So I called Jody. When all else fails, I always call my BFF, Jody. In 2003 there were no YouTube tutorials, I don't even think we had a computer, just a phone. So I explained my dilemma, I read her a few lines from the patterns and then I said
"Does baste mean I have to get it wet to hold it all together, like when you baste a turkey?" Jody laughed out loud and explained what basting was, we both laughed until we started crying!! Then after a lot of laughing, and a little coaching by phone with my dear friend, I decided that I would jump right in, literally. haha
So I got a flat bed sheet from the closet, set it on top of the quilt front and I sewed three sides together, like a giant pillow case, and then I flipped it right side out.
Next, I actually got inside the giant pillow case on my hands and knees and shoved the batting stuff inside and tried my best to make the scissor cut edges reach the 4 corners. Then I flipped the fourth side in and stitched it closed. Jody explained that I would need to stitch around a few of the squares in the center of the quilt to keep it together, so I did that. I later added some bias tape that I had purchased around the edge of the quilt to make it look more like the quilts on the pattern cover. It was very ugly, and not square, but I made something.
I learned to do something with very little help, and from that day on I have never stopped calling poor Jody for advice.
Here are my links: Facebook Instagram
Video Tutorials Lineup:
Supplies and Sewing Machine: August 1, 2019
Sew Quilt Blocks 1-9: August 8-October 3, 2019
Sew the Quilt Top Together: October 10, 2019
Quilting the Quilt: October 17, 2019
Quilt Binding: October 24, 2019
We’ll show off our finished quilts on November 7!
Pat Sloan https://blog.patsloan.com
https://www.instagram.com/quilterpatsloan/
Tracie at Ricefordstreams
Angie at a little patchwork
Mathew Mister Domestic
Karin at Blue Pip Designs
Carrie in Texas
Linden of VineLines
Priscilla The Real Housewives of Cross Stitch
Rebecca One Wee Bird
Moda
Fat Quarter shop