About a decade ago my Mom, Sisters, and Sister in Law started a Quilting circle. We each made 6 copies of one block each month (maybe? could have been more like every 2-3 months…) and distributed them to each of the participating members. This was to be my very first foray into the quilting obsession. Yup, this innocent little project started it all…
I pulled them out the other day for a different project (down there at the bottom of this post), and found myself admiring some of the work I’d done, and cringing in horror at some of the others I’d managed to completely mangle.
The log cabin block above was the very first block I did for the group. I may (totally) not choose the fabrics now that I used then, but notice how the block LOOKS pretty decent? Of course I chose one of the hardest blocks as my first attempt, but I actually pulled it off…
I realized that I’d started out difficult, so I switched to a simpler block for my next shot. Can’t get more simple than a 9-patch…
Another 9-patch which may or may not be mine… I recognize the fabric, but that doesn’t mean I made it. So sorry if I’m taking credit from one of my fellow blockers…
Ok, back to more difficult.. This one turned out 'ok’, but the seams need some help, and the final shape is in no way ok…
Another ‘ok’ one, still not perfect, but passible.. (again, I ‘think’ I made this?)
Somewhere in there I decided I’d make a quilt for myself. I grabbed every random piece of fabric I had and just started sewing them together. Very I n t e r e s t I n g….the best description I can come up with at the moment. It’s so “interesting” that I just might turn it into a table runner as a reminder of how far I’ve come…
Now, the longer the project went, the more horrible my blocks became.. isn’t that supposed to work the other way? Aren’t you supposed to IMPROVE as you go? I must not have gotten that memo. I do love rust colors, but this one is ‘cring-able’.
Saved the best for last.. oh the horror…oh the embarrassment…did I ACTUALLY give my Mom and sisters one of these? Ack! I don’t think I could ever look at this one without gagging, so it’s never going to see the light of day again… can’t bring myself to chuck it, so it’s going to live in a dark little box, in a dark little corner…always there to remind me that my quilting COULD and HAS been worse.
The project that started this whole journey down quilting memory lane, is this one. I needed a mini quilt for my little black board, but didn’t want to spend a lot of time on it right now. (painting and re-building hallway and stairs and all…), so I dug through the blocks we’d traded to find one for a cute, fast mini-quilt. There are a few others I’m definitely going to do the same thing with, but this little pretty is the first.
I’m not sure which of us made this one, but I love it! The close up is for identifying purposes.. I’m assuming someone will recognize the fabric and fess up to making it.. My little black board thanks you!
Too bad I won’t be hanging any of MY old blocks on that board.. nope.. can’t make me…
