My First Quilt

The first quilt that I made, from scratch, I didn't take photos of during the process. This is actually true of the first dozen or so that I made. I don't have any photo's of most of them, and as it was more than 20 years ago, very few of them are still around in any shape to take photos of.

The first quilt was a Christmas quilt for my parents. At the time, I lived in an efficiency apartment, and the quilt was for a double/queen sized bed. Yep, it was a little tight, but you can do anything you set your mind to, at least I can. 

I started with graph paper. I knew how long and wide I wanted to make it, decided on the individual square size, (quilts can be about the math) defined the quilt upon the graph paper, and then built my tree from star to skirt within those confines. Did it work perfectly the first time? Nope. Did I waste a lot of paper? Maybe, but it depends on your definition of waste. Did I learn a lot? You bet I did. Once it was right on paper, I began the process of actually putting it together.

I purchased a lot of remnants (many fabric stores sell small pieces of fabric at a discount), and lots of fabric, though most of it at just a quarter yard at a time. Back when I was doing this, you couldn't find Fat Quarters, or other quilting supplies. With my fabric, scissors and pattern (a card board square, to draw on the fabric) ready, I started cutting and sewing.

My First Quilt