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
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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
What a wonderful first quilt story :) Makes me want to ask the question of full circle - do you/did you wait up under a quilt for your kids?! My first quilt was a Rail Fence baby quilt for my son about 16 years ago.
ReplyDeletePatty, this is priceless. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
ReplyDeleteMy first quilt as a teen was similar, my next oldest sister and I cut up our jeans into 4 or 5" squares and made a checkerboard like yours w/scraps of any fabrics that mom had sewn clothing with for us.