Why Would Anyone Want to Cut Fabric into Little Pieces....
You know how sometimes you fall into something that turns into a passion? You don't really know why you're drawn to it, but you can't help yourself. That's what happened to me when I learned to quilt.
Connecting With the Past
I like to think there is a little bit of my grandmother's in me. Both of them were quilters. They made quilts to keep their families warm at night. They made quilts to give to us at Christmas, graduations and birthdays. They connected with friends through quilting. And they quilted because it was fun.
When I look at the quilts my grandmother's made for us, I see their past, and mine. I see the old housecoat my father's mother made me when I was little. She used the same fabric to make my Barbie Doll an outfit. I see my grandpa's shirts, too. I see years of washings. I see hours of cutting, sewing and hand quilting. And I see love.
When I look at the quilts my grandmother's made for us, I see their past, and mine. I see the old housecoat my father's mother made me when I was little. She used the same fabric to make my Barbie Doll an outfit. I see my grandpa's shirts, too. I see years of washings. I see hours of cutting, sewing and hand quilting. And I see love.
It's Faster And Easier To Learn To Quilt Today!
Oh! Things are so much different today, but they're still the same, too. I quilt for fun, for friendship, for the feeling that I've created something, for gift-giving and you can't beat sleeping under a handmade quilt.But today, we have tools that my grandma would cringe to see! Rotary cutters that would lop a finger off in a heartbeat (I sound like my grandma) rulers that make her little wooden one look, er...charming, and computerized sewing machines! Why have all the modern conveniences made their way into the quilting world? TIME! We work, carpool and commute. We don't have as much time as our grandmothers did. And the tools we use today make our work so much more accurate, too!
One of the ways quilting has changed is the Internet. I can't count the hours I've spent online looking for patterns, shopping for fabric, and perhaps most importantly, looking for advice.
Advice can be found in hundreds of places. It can be confusing and overwhelming. One thing I've run into, especially when wanting to learn to how to quilt, is that there are as many ways to quilt as there are people who do it. But everywhere I looked and everything I read added to my knowledge. What's really fun is to go to my local quilt shop and give a veteran quilter a tip or an idea that she didn't know about.
Like I said earlier, you can spend literally hours searching the Internet for help to learn to quilt.
Hopefully, I can help you shorten your search. One of the places that will give you a very good, basic understanding to build on is The Essential Guide to Quilting. The Essential Guide to Quilting will teach you the terminology, the tools, fabric selection and how to care for your quilts. For the amount of good, basic understanding you'll get, you can't beat the price.
You can find The Essential Guide To Quilting here - I think you'll learn a lot from it.
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO QUILTING
The Patchwork EasyAs Method
Now, this is another great guide. The Patchwork EasyAs Method goes another step beyond what you've learned so far. It has many good learning pages for the beginner, and gives you a load of block patterns, quilt patterns and layouts, completed pictures, the basics of color and design and more. The author has taken what she has learned online and in books and condensed it into one resource, and several bonuses. You'll use this book as a reference for years. You can check out more about it here -THE PATCHWORK EASYAS METHOD
The Quilter's Code
One of the things we quilters love to do is get other people interested in quilting. There are hundreds of books and websites. Quilt shops have classes. There is more fabric out there than can fit into any store.In my quest to fulfill the Quilter's Code, I hope I've provided you with a few good resources that will get you started toward a skill that will relax you, give you pride in your accomplishments, open the door to new friends and drive your hubby nuts when you come home with more "I just had to have it" fabric.
Oh, and don't forget the forums. There are many, many forums full of quilters, beginners and experts alike, who are there for the same reason you are. You'll learn, forge new bonds with people around the world, and in your own backyard that you would have never met without that common thread...quilting!
Burning The Midnight Oil
A very wise woman encouraged me to start a blog. I hope you'll take a gander at it!
- The Midnight Oil
- A chronicle of my deepest thoughts...yeah, right. I haven't had a really deep thought in years! =-)
Tell Me About YOUR Stash!
submit
-
Reply
- Senora_M Senora_M Mar 18, 2009 @ 3:21 pm
- Oh gosh. I got almost all of my fabric from my mom. She has A TON of it and when they moved, my dad sent a lot of it my way. Works for me because I JUST started quilting and I love it. It is kind of funny to start with a full piece of fabric, cut it up, sew it together with other fabrics and end up with a big sheet of fabric!! :) I just really enjoy quilting!
-
Reply
- ChrisDunne ChrisDunne Aug 22, 2008 @ 10:19 pm
- Thank you, Evelyn. How lucky to have your Grandma's scrap cloth!
-
Reply
- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Aug 22, 2008 @ 9:52 pm
- I learned to quilt from my Grandma. She also passed on her scrap cloth. Quilting is a wonderful tradition. Thank you for sharing.
Learn To Quilt
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byby ChrisDunne
I'm married, and a mom. We live in the Ozark Mountains. I have a full time job, and am just learning the joys of the Undersea World! (Which is a lot m... (more)
