The first quilt that I have ever made is now complete. It began as a small project in April, just cutting and machine sewing half square triangles from scraps of fabric. In about a month, the plan developed to make sawtooth star blocks, as explained in my earlier posts.
The first blocks were constructed with quilting cotton that was left after making toiles of patterns. There's fabric that was made into an a-line skirt (quilting cotton from JoAnn Fabrics); some that was used as bias binding (purchased as a remnant from Taos Adobe Quilting ($4); some leftover fabric from three dresses from JoAnn Fabrics, and more of the same from Hobby Lobby; leftovers from toddler harem pants, a lightweight cotton from Hobby Lobby. These scraps produced over a half dozen quilt blocks that were 16" square.
Finishing out the blocks in the same sawtooth star pattern required more fabric. Quilting cotton somewhat similar to the scraps was purchased at Santa Fe Quilting and Hacer. That amounted to 1 1/2 yards for about $20.
With the additional fabric, the number of blocks grew to 10. Rather than throw one out, I added two "accent blocks" to make a 12 block quilt. The star studded fabric for the two extra blocks came from Swanson thrift for $8.
Before managing to construct twelve blocks, the plan was to enlarge the quilt to add sashing between the blocks. To this end, a trip Taos Adobe Quilting yielded 2 1/2 yards of black and brown print intended for sashing for about $30. Once all twelve blocks were laid out together, my fascination with the resulting patterns decided me against sashing. In the end, some of the black fabric was used for the border.
After considering several fabrics, the star studded aqua fabric was used for the binding.
I just finished hand sewing the binding down today. It went into the washer and dryer immediately. I couldn't wait to get rid of the starch I had added to make the pre-washed fabrics easier to quilt. The starch and the dense quilting made the quilt feel very stiff. It is softer now and will soften more with use and washing, if it gets used. I have mixed feelings about the quilt. It doesn't fit the decor of any bedroom. I chose the backing to coordinate with a couch. That's where I will put it this fall. Maybe someone will want to wrap up in it. In the meantime, it is hanging from the loft.
I learned a lot making this quilt, how to cut and piece fabrics into half square triangles, how to arrange those triangles and sew them into quilt blocks, how to get the points of the triangles to "kiss", and a little about how to improvise a quilt block. I learned about the feel of quilting fabrics, the weight and degree of opaqueness or translucency, and the amount of fraying. I thought I could use my color sense, honed from years of knitting and sewing apparel, to concoct a nice looking quilt. I see now I have a lot more to learn about quilting. In the end, what matters is that I achieved my original goal, to see if I would like to make a quilted jacket.
The fabric would make a good jacket. That's something I may work in this winter, a quilted jacket. I have two other quilts to make, one underway and one I will put off until next summer. With my experience in making this quilt, I will know how to instruct the longarmer if I have it quilted. I also have some experience in both machine and hand quilting in the quilt repair I undertook. I think I will be better prepared to make a decent quilt that will coordinate with one or two of the bedrooms. And, along the way, I may make that quilted jacket I have been craving for years.
Dimensions once washed and dried are 58" wide by 74" long.
