I always have a hard time giving a simple answer to the question, “when did you start quilting?”  Because, it was somewhat of a gradual process.  I learned to sew garments as a little girl, and I learned to hand quilt as a pre-teen, quilting part of a hideous cheater cloth quilt (never finished it, and I’m sure it’s in a landfill somewhere) and then, an antique bedspread that my Grandma had given me; then I STARTED piecing and quilting, as a hobby and an obsession, about eight years ago.

The bedspread Grandma gave me was a typical white, woven bedspread from the early 20th Century.  It was well used and well worn.  I guess this is what I would have to call my first quilt.  A whole-cloth quilt of sorts, quilted by hand, with a large oval hoop, by a total beginner…a teenage Doris.

Here it is spread out on a Queen size bed.  The angled corners are where there used to be notches for a four-poster bed, which were tattered and worn, so I cut them at angles.  It fits a Twin size bed perfectly now.

I quilted the details, fleur de lis, a Mariner’s Compass medallion….

 

Scrollwork, lattice grid borders….

I even got crazy wild and did the binding along the zig zag edge…(I suspect my Mom did most, if not all of the binding for me)!

It’s plain bleached muslin on the back:

Not too bad, stitch-wise, for a teenager, huh?!

This lived on my bed for many years, moving with me from apartment to apartment through my single girl years.  I guess now it’s a treasured heirloom. 

Thanks to all of you who visited from Amy’s blog and left comments on my posts.  The winner of the giveaway is Pokey, of pokeydotquilting. Pokey will receive a Moda Charm Pack of her choice in a zipper tool bag along with a few surprises.  So Pokey, take your pick of Giddy by Sandy Gervais, Fresh Flowers by Deb Strain, or Dilly Dally by Me & My Sister!