My very first quilt

I am addicted to quilting.  (Probably no one reading this blog is surprised to hear that!)

Quilts of all shapes and sizes have taken up residence in my home.  Other quilts are living in the homes of family and friends.

A few weeks ago, I started to build an inventory of all the quilts I've ever made.  I'm recording any information I can remember.  Besides gathering up quilts in my home, part of the inventory has been searching through old photographs to find a reminder of a quilt.

I remembered the first quilt that I ever made was while I was a teenager.  I had no experience whatsoever in quilting and since I did make garments, I'd bet anything that those seams are 5/8''!

I found a photo of it, complete with my mom pretending to be asleep!

My First Quilt

Mom, pretending to be asleep under my very first quilt

Date: somewhere 1977-1979

Size: Couch size, intended to keep mom warm while she waited up for one of her teenage daughters to come home

Pattern: None.  Simply cut squares from fabric with scissors and sewed together in a grid.  Quilt wasn't bound - just sewed together envelope style

Quilting:  Likely stitch in the ditch around each square

Story:  As the mom of several teenage daughters, the oldest of which was yours truly.  She would never go to bed if one of us was out of the house.  I made her this quilt so she could at least rest on the couch while she was waiting up.  

At this point, I had only made garments so putting together a quilt this large was a big undertaking.  Especially trying to do so in order that the finished quilt would be a surprise.  I remember laying it out on the floor in the living room as part of the planning process while she was out for the evening herself.

I used a blanket - a new one, but a blanket nevertheless - in place of batting.  

I'll be posting more of my early quilts on the blog in the weeks to come.

What is the story behind your first quilt?

Have a wonderful day! Patty