how I started with quilting

Quilting is something I've been interested in for many years. I have vague childhood memories of my Big Granny, an ancient little woman, sitting in a rocking chair in the living room of my Granny's house working away on quilts by hand. I have an awesome sister that can whip out a full size quilt in a weekend just for fun. I have an appreciation for the Amish and their amazing quilts. You get the picture.

But, my own personal quilting experience was a baby quilt for my oldest child (that I only made the top and my sister had to finish for me), and two beginnings... meaning I cut up fabric and may or may not have started piecing them together. And all of those were simple nine patch.

So, when my friend Sarah suggested we crash a Dallas Modern Quilt Guild meeting, I could not believe my ears when my mouth said "OK"!

Really? When do I have time to quilt? And these women have certainly been quilting for far, far longer than I had. I have to admit I was a bit scared. However, I went. My husband was convinced I'd walk into a room full of little blue-haired women, but this was not the case. This was a room full of woman my age and younger! Yes, there were a few older than me, but only a few. And they were so nice! I have to admit I was even a bit surprised. So this is Modern Quilting! I thought "I'm liking it here!". Halfway through the meeting I knew I'd be back and even wanted to join the group. And so on June 21, I did.

When I walked into the July meeting, I could not help but notice a large box of long skinny scraps in my favorite colors: pale grey, turquoise, white, red and black. It turns out Moda Fabrics sent the fabric for an upcoming collection and challenged the group to "create a mini quilt measuring anywhere from mug rug size (10" square) to wall hanging size (24" x 24")" and show it at the September meeting. I got two big handfuls of fabric and went on my way.

My brain was spinning. I had recently purchased The Practical Guide to Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman. The first project in her book is 'Fenced In' or Rail Fence. This fabric would be perfect! But the challenge was for a mug rug, so after spending some quality time with Google, I decided on a pattern and within 48 hours went from a pile of scraps to my very first finished piece!

This was just the beginning. Stay tuned!