Quilting Questions

There are tons of pictures I need to download but before I get to that (which won't be today anymore) I still to answer my questions about quilting from last time.

Why did I start to quilt? It's not a story that is all that exciting now that I think about it. It just sort of happened when I was pregnant with Ethan. He's almost 11 now so that's quite a long time ago for me. When I was pregnant with Aleana I had croqueted her a baby blanket and now I wanted to make something for the next baby. Quilting looked relatively easy - you just cut out blocks and you just sew them together straight, it seemed so simple that I figured I could do it. Especially seeing how I had not even looked at a sewing machine in 10 years. I started to imagine what I wanted to make, bought the materials, cut out the home-made templates and started to sew.

It took me two years and a half years to complete the project. It's not something that would end up in a quilting magazine but it's full of love and the beginnings of a journey in a craft that I never really thought about BEFORE this pivotal moment. I'll never forget Ethan's face when I gave it to him. He lit right up and said "For me? You made this just for me? Tanks Mom!!"
He still has it on his bed to this day, all ratty and loved to bits.

Putting together that first project required some consultation. I remember showing my Mom the templates for the alphabet and how she admired the fabrics. I had no clue how to bind a quilt and the books were hard to understand so I asked Will's Mom to show me how she would do it (she is a seamstress) and gained some understanding how that process worked.
A visitor to our church gave me some suggestions on how to sandwich everything together and outline quilt it - a good way for a beginner to get going.

So that's how it all started - after Ethan came Matthew's baby quilt and by then Aleana was asking "Mom? Aren't you going to make me a quilt too?" So I made one for her too. And on the story goes. Today, Aleana loves to help me and we work together really well on planning things and getting it all together. There are some things about quilting that I still do NOT enjoy but it's easier when you have someone helping you. When it comes to quilting I am definately not a perfectionist which I have to confess is not connected to being an artsy sort of person but rather related to being lazy and impatient. Why bother doing it the LONG way when you can do it in twice the time? I do admit there has to be a balance and sloppiness in quilting is not appreciated for long when all the seams fall apart :).

Well I think that's as far as I will get on this topic for today - my time is up!!! I do LOVE color and fabric - they give me the tinglys - but I'll have to explore that another day.

Hope you all have a great day - in the hands of God!
Gloria