My First Quilt: Figuring it Out Along the Way

As I wrapped up my current quilting project (you have to wait until Friday to see it!), I thought I'd share the ones that came before it since most of them were completed before I had this blog. I find it interesting to see the progression and I hope you find it interesting too!

This is the first quilt that I ever made. Well, that's not entirely true. I pieced about half of a quilt during the class I took where I first learned the craft, but after my teacher told me that she didn't really think my fabrics "went together", I stopped going and made this quilt instead. Which may have been a little immature (it was a long time ago!) but I think there is something to figuring out how to do something you enjoy on your own. I made it using fabrics that I had, and that were in my sister's stash, and while it's not the most complex of quilts, and my stitches are far from perfect, I do still love that the non-matching fabrics actually do work together quite well. And that the backing fabric is so mellow, which is a lovely alternative to the front.

 This quilt has actually accompanied me through my adult life, which is kind of amazing—from NC where I made the top, to NJ where I stayed at my parents for a while as I figured out what to do with myself after doing a year of AmeriCorps, to NYC where I learned how to be a writer and editor (and made some amazing friends), and now it lives with me—and keeps me warm—in Iowa.