Yesterday I was looking though some old emails that I had sent to a friend and I found one that contained pictures of my two very first quilts. I did not know I still had those pictures. The quilts were created around April of 2010.
My first two quilts are still in use, but are now part of the “cat-bed” pile, ha ha! I cannot make myself throw these quilts out…even though I might not show them off. They remind me of the love of this craft and the strong desire to “figure it out” even with just two quilt books in my possession and no quilter around to ask for help.
So these two quilts are kind of hidden in my house; but I think it is time to talk and laugh about them a bit. 🙂
Number 1: Table runner.
I had bought a FQ bundle at Michael’s Crafts store (during the summer of 2009) that gave off a strong “William Morris-vibe”. I just fell in love with it. I had never quilted before, just admired quilts. I wanted to LEARN! It took me over half a year to actually cut up the fabric and create this table runner.
It was completely handpieced and quilted.
I played with the lay-out of the triangles for a long time before I settled on this design. Lots of the points of the triangles were lost in the piecing. I probably did not have the know-how to baste a quilt; it is so poofy in certains place and flat in others.
I bought a satin bias tape and sewed it through and through as a binding, WHAT DID I KNOW ABOUT BINDING ?! Not much, ha ha!!!
Number 2 : Placemat
The quilt top was handpieced, but the straight-line-quilting was done on my mothers sewing machine. (That I blew up later in the year…. oops! Sorry Mom!!!)
I chose to work with half-square-triangles again, tiny ones this time.
Repeat after me: WHAT WAS I THINKING?!
LOL!!!
What did I learn?
I had so much fun creating these two quilts. I pushed myself to figure out techniques and learn to use a sewing machine. I quickly learned how to bind a quilt and how to piece a back.
In both these quilts you can see that my fabric picks were way to similar. Parts of the patterns I designed are not visible at all. There is just not enough contrast between the colours and prints. The FQ bundles I used were a great starting point, but there needed to be more variation in pattern and scale.
Also looking back at these two projects I can see that from the very beginning in my quilting journey I wanted to create my own patterns and that I was not scared of new techniques. I just jumped in at the deep end, and I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT (even those minutes spent with a seamripper!)
Esther
ipatchandquilt 
Hello Esther:
WOW .. How your quilting skills have improved and grown. That must give you a lot of satisfaction. I think you have not only mastered the techniques, but have added your sense of style and colors. Your exposure to the art world is very evident. Wishing you a warm spring with lots of inspiration.
Annie
I think you were very gutsy to tackle so many points in your first two quilts. (Makes me think of a knitting instructor, also self taught, who said she was glad she didn’t know a pattern was too hard for beginners, so she did it successfully as a beginner.)
Ha ha, yes that is exactly what I did! I did not know that the triangles are not the best shape to start with as a beginner quilter. I just liked how they looked and I was proud of myself creating these two little quilts. Wonky and all!
Esther
It’s so fun to look back on other’s firsts! Yours are nice!
Hello Renee!
Yes, it is fun! I was so surprised to find the pictures in my mail box. I look back at these two little quilts with lots of love and a big chuckle! It is amazing how much you learn in a few years and not realize it until you look back at those ” very firsts”!
Esther
Really love the designs of both the table runner and the placemat. Those are both impressive first attempts.
Fun post! It is fun to look back and see what has changed, what has stayed the same, and how much progress you have made!
It’s so interesting to look back and (hopefully) see how far we’ve come!!!! Thanks so much for sharing….hugs..
Thank you for being so brave to show your first quilts. It is incredible to see how far you’ve come and where you started. I have a similar baby quilt that for the same reason will never be chucked out. It makes me smile everytime I see it and proud of how far I’ve come.
Very cool!! Sometimes, I think we come up with the best ideas when we don’t know any better. It’s nice to be uninhibited by what we “know” right? These are super cool, thanks for sharing them. 🙂