My First Quilt

Here is a pictorial show of my first quilt... Currently a UFO... I need to sandwich, quilt and bind it... I started it in Fall 2005 and it is for my daughter who was born the summer of that year... The pattern is Irish Chain... I followed a pattern in Carol Doak's book : Your First Quilt Book (or It Should Be!)... It was my first quilt book..

The quilt from the book:














Fabric I chose for the project (center color is HUNTER GREEN):







My first block with setting blocks on each side:






My first row:




Top:











Top with Borders:










I'm sure she will love it!

Mission Statement

The purpose of this blog is to share my quilting experience with you all... I started quilting in Fall 2005... I was an avid scrapbooker prior to catching the quilting bug... I had taken a class at my local scrapbooking store on 'paper piecing' the scrapbooking technique... I wanted to find more examples so I could further my skills... So, I came home and did a google search.. That is when I discovered that 'paper piecing' was also a QUILTING technique... I started googling 'paper piecing' as relatd to quilting... I have found an awesome lady named Carol Doak... Many have dubbed her the Queen of Paper Piecing... I picked up a book of her's called 'Your First Quilt Book (or it should be!) and it was my first quilt book... ::grin:: I then caught the stash flu.. LOL!!! I became a collector of fabric... I'm an official Fabricaholic... I need to attend the 12 step program for quilters... ::smirk:: So, after building a beginning stash and purchasing fabric for my 'first' quilt which I decided to make for my daughter since she was born shortly before I caught the quilting bug... My goal was to finish her quilt and give it to her on her 1st birthday... That was before I knew about UFOs (which is what my first quilt is still currently ::wink::)... What a crazy and intricate the world of quilting is... So, I started work on my first quilt... It was a toddler bed size irish chain... I have the top completely pieced... I need to sandwich, quilt and bind it... I will go into different quilting 'terms' as my blog grows so don't worry you will soon understand what I'm saying if you aren't already infected by quilting... ::smirk:: Then again just reading this blog may infect you and you will catch the quilting bug and not be able to resist... LOL!!! Shortly after starting my first traditional pieced quilting project I learned about Carol Doak Paper Piecing Yahoo Group... That is when I really learned what exactly 'paper piecing' was... It is an awesome group that is headed by Carol her self and she uses other lovers of her style to help her manage our group...
She frequently designs patterns only available if you are a member of this unique yahoo group... She was having a challenge when I joined for people to make a 'Beginner' Block... I had never paper pieced and decided I'm going to try this and see if it is really as easy as everyone in the group was saying it was... All the photos of things people had made looked so complicated and I could never possibly make anything that fancy or beautiful... I was wrong... It is 100% true... If you can sew on a straight line with just a standard stitch every machine has you can Carol Doak Paper Piece... So, I took the plunge and mde my first block...

I need to learn more about directions of fabrics... WOW!

I did better on my 2nd take... Aren't the Batik's beautiful...

It was quick, easy and awesome... I posted my photo... She had a random drawing and I WON!!! I won Carol Doak Teaches You to Paper Piece DVD... As you can say the rest is history... ENJOY this journey as I learn to quilt...