I had to pick one of my finished quilts and tell the story about it, and it's too bad that a lot of my quilts are in progress and I'm so new at quilting that I don't have that many done yet.
I picked my first full size quilt, the Late Fall Quilt, so named because of the colours, which reminded me of that time of year after all the beautiful leaves have fallen and the grass has turned that yellowish-brown.
The story behind this quilt is this: I made it as part of an evening class taught by two very talented quilters. I had never really quilted before but have always been a bit crafty, so quilting really intrigued me.
I bought some fabrics that kind of matched from the clearance section of a local fabric store as I didn't want to spend a fortune on a potentially disastrous piece of work :) However, since I'm part perfectionist and a logical thinker, I really took to quilting.
The trickiest part was choosing the colours, as I just couldn't imagine what they would look like in the final pattern. In fact, I couldn't imagine until the quilt top was finished!!
The whole class made a double Irish chain in the 10 week course. I usually don't go with the flow, so of course I decided to reverse the pattern to have the dark colour in the center and the lighter ones in the chain. On top of that, the leafy fabric was my favourite and I wanted to have large sections of it on the quilt.
I started sewing away, not being that happy with my colour choices all throughout the piecing process, and threatening to give it away, but lo and behold, when that top came together, I fell irreversably in love with the quilt and quilting in general. I ended up giving the quilt away after all, as a Christmas gift to my mom, but only because I liked it so much, not because I needed to get rid of it!
And now it's 7 months later and I'm working on my 10th quilt, coming up with my own pattern variations and getting better and better at choosing fabrics and being confident that they'll turn into a great quilt. That in fact is my favourite part of quilting: all those random pieces of fabric transforming into a beautiful finished product! Amazing.
The blogging/quilting community has given me so much inspiration over the months, that I think it's a really great idea to bring many of us together in an online quilt festival! It's wonderful to have so many like-minded crafty people out there!
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42 comments:
Beautiful Irish Chain! I love the colors and the dark centers!
Wow - I can't believe that was your first quilt! It looks great. The pattern looks pretty complex for a beginner, and the quilting looks great on the back. Wonderful job!
You go girl! Isn't quilting so very addictive? A beautiful quilt, great choice of color combination. I would not have thought those three fabrics would have worked together, but you sure made it work! Did you machine quilt it yourself? I'm impress if you did. I can't free motion for my life!
Very lovely quilt! That is what I love about quilting. It is like a big puzzle, and you really don't always know what the end result may be until it is all put together.
Don't you love surprise successes?!
Oh Sunshine that is just lovely. You obviously have an inhereant sense of color, that many would be jealous of.
Crispy
It's lovely, I really like the reversal of light and dark!
You did a great job for a first attempt. Your story reminds me of how consumed I became with quilting when I started. Thanks for sharing.
What a great first quilt! Love the fabrics you chose and the way you decide to use them! Breaking all the "rules" is the best part of being a new quilter - you don't know better and still produce amazing quilts :) Glad it's with your mom so you can visit it!
Wow! that turned out so good.
Lovely! Your Mom must cherish it.
It's a work of art! I love it and even though I am not into the "earthy" tones. this just does it for me.
You keep it up. It's fun reading your blog as usual.
The quilt has a very rich feel to it. I love the fabrics you chose.
So pretty! I love the quilting too. You did a beautiful job. :)
What a lovely quilt, and so awesome that it was your first! The fabrics are great, and I love the way you quilted it. Here's to many more great quilts!
It's beautiful!
Good idea to showcase your favorite print in the open spaces.
Wow. The colors are beautiful and I love how you quilted it. You did a wonderful job
This is really gorgeous. I love the colors and design.
Great job
Lovely earthy Irish chain quilt - it is a beauty- .. You sure have taken off with a bang having already made 10 quilts..
There are many wonderful quilts to make- sounds like you are off to a great start....Long may you continue to enjoy the process..
Regards,
Anna
WHat a beautiful quilt. I am wanting to take a class and learn to quilt as well....I am impressed with your quilt and talent. I need to take the class and just go for it! Thanks for the nudge.
I loved the quilt and how you picked out the colours...perfect!
Micki
I think this is the most lovely double Irish chain I have seen. Wonderful choice of switching the dark with the light.
What a lovely gift for your mom! Beautiful fabrics and excellent work!
Great quilt. Sometimes it's hard to imagine when working on a quilt how all the colors will seem to belong once the quilt is complete. It never ceases to amaze me.
Astonishing! What an amazing first quilt!
I love it!
Wow! Beautiful quilt. I love it.
very cooL!
Great Irish chain, good colour choices
Beginning with a double Irish chain is very gutsy, so I'm sure your body of quilt work will be adventurous. And you'll really have fun in the process.
A great job done! A very lovely quilt!
What a nice quilt, I'm sure your mom love it! The color placement is perfect, it looks great.
It's gorgeous! I love how it just grew on you and gave you more confidence!
What a lovely quilt. The colours you have used are just perfect.
Very pretty quilt...
Beautiful quilt! And I LOVE it when people decide to shake up patterns a little- it puts your own stamp on it, you know?
What a very beautiful quilt, I feel the same ~I just love how you never know exactly what you are going to wind up with until the very end!
A fantastic story and great job for your first quilt! Beautiful.
I had a hard time choosing a favorite for the same reason - most of my favorites were in progress! I also can't tell what the quilt will look like even with the pattern and the fabric right in front of me. Luckily, I am generally pleased with the results. This quilt is beautiful - great fabric choices!
You did awesome for your first quilt! Very pretty.
Tradional-Complicated-Sophisticated-Huge-Completed- WOW!! Thanks for sharing this. Quite an inspiration
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