Quilts

Dog Bone Block

Current Project

December 2010 is a Christmas I will always remember with bittersweet memories. It was that Christmas which was my moms last Christmas and it was also at that time my daughter who was so very close to mom chose to have her Mamaw make the announcement that she was pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.  It would turn out to be moms last Christmas. We knew it and it made Christmas sad in so many ways. My daughter would have given anything for her Mamaw to have been here for the birth of her precious baby boy who came in July 2011 but it just wasn't meant to be. We all said goodbye to mom in January 2011 only 14 days later. With the announcement of a new grand baby my daughter asked me if I would make  her baby a quilt.  Of course I said yes even though I had never made one before. I set out on a mission determined to make my first grandchild a quilt my daughter would love and be proud for her baby to have. I looked on the Internet at numerous websites. I looked at magazines and books. I went to fabric stores looking for ideas for the perfect but practical quilt that I could make as a beginner. I thought of YouTube. Everything is on YouTube so I was sure I could find help there. I watched so many videos. One day I ran across a video and upon touching the play button was greeted by a catchy little tune that ended with a quack!  Jenny Doane with Missouri Star Quilt Co was what I had found. She had an awesome video tutorial on quilting. I noticed she had many others and decided to search for a baby quilt tutorial. There was one and she made it seem do easy. Much easier than I ever dreamed possible and that gave me the confidence that I could make a baby quilt with her help.  I have watched many different quilting tutorials from many different  well known quilters but  the MSQC has the best and most easily followed instructions I have found.  I did make that baby quilt and although it was your basic 5 inch patchwork pattern it was beautiful and every stitch was with love and excitement of what was to come. That was several quilts ago now. Last year I tackled a king sized quilt using the disappearing 9 patch design for my daughter and her husband along with a couple quilted matching throw pillows.  Then I made another full sized quilt for my father in law. I can't remember the design I used on that one. Last month I finished a lap sized quilt for my son and daughter in law.  Since that first quilt I have also made different quilt squares and used them for place mats and doilies. I made a small lap or wall quilt with a rooster applique and have it to my sister. Quilting is a lot if fun and I love trying out the different squares I see on the Internet and in books and magazines. Right now I am working on a quilt with fishing theme fabric which I plan to keep and take to out camper on the lake.

I am still not an expert quilter but I always think of what Jenny Doane says sometimes in her videos "there are no quilting police" and I remember it's a quilt made of scraps of fabric. So what if you sew something out of place or backwards or you have to piece fabrics together to make that last square for your design. It's OK. Most of the time you're he only one who will know. Others will only see the beauty and the love you have put into your quilt.

The Baby Quilt