The Lessons...

If you read my blog, chances are pretty good you are a quilter, or know someone who is. You are probably familiar with the process of creating or building a quilt. Back in 1976, I wasn't. I knew how to sew, almost anything including coats, knit, embroider, and crochet. I made tied comforters for my kids from twin size sheets and quilt batting, but sewing together scraps of fabric to make a quilt had not occurred to me. I knew what quilts were, but owned none. Neither my mom, nor Grandma Lottie sewed or quilted. So when I ventured into the land of templates and fabric, it was alien territory. But not unfriendly.

I had no rulers, except the kids school rulers, rotary cutters were not yet on the marke(,at least as far as I know) and no box or bin nor basket overflowing with scraps. No stash, nothing in the cupboards,drawers, no rubbermaids. The tools I had were an idea from Aunt Lucille, that piece of paper with hexs drawn on, a pair of scissors, pins, sewing machine, and thread(I quickly figured out I needed to make that hexagon from cardboard as the paper one was quickly damaged as I cut with scissors). In reality, that's ALL you really need to make a quilt, except for fabric.

I have to admit, it was pretty hard to come up with those first scraps of fabric. It didn't occur to me to go and buy fabric. I bought for making clothes or curtains, but not to cut into scraps. Thus, the early stage of the Honeycomb quilt went pretty slowly. A bit from here and a bit from there. Then my mother in law gave me some odds and ends and I had variety..hurray!! Mostly feedsack scraps from her sewing, she was a farm wife. Of all the hexs in my quilt, I still know which ones were Sister Marian's aprons or father in laws P.J. scraps.A few came from used clothing that I gleaned from here and there. A dress that wasn't liked by DD, or the ties cut off an apron.

It wasn't til I moved across the state four years later, and met Shirley, that I realized you could buy fabric just for making quilts pieces...and the new town had a Ben Franklin , with lots and lots of cotton calicos. I loved it! New friends began to share scraps and pieces with me....a stash was born. It probably all fit in one small box. By the time we moved again in 1984, the stash was filling one laundry room cupboard..not too bad. But it was growing, I was piecing on the machine by then. Log cabins, maples leaves, Bright Hopes, a sampler for the DD going off to college, stepping stones, and one and on. And I was hand quilting the honeycomb quilt...nearly ready for binding. I've tried every type of binding know to quilters, but I still prefer an applied binding, straight cut vs. bias, narrow and flat. Bringing the back over doesn't please me, and I really dislike turning under both edges and doing the running stitch. I've even done the prairie points edge, which is kind of fun.

What I am saying today is that many, many things have changed over the years. We have an abundance, almost a glut, of everything we could possibly want for making a quilt. Every kind of ruler, thread, gizmos, gadget, and an endless supply of new books, patterns, magazines, free flyers, and classes. There were almost NO books on quilting back in the 1970's. As the decade ended there were a few, but we still hadn't heard from Eleanor Burns or Georgia Bonesteel, they came with the 1980's. And they were just the tip of the iceberg bearing down on us...*VBS* I think having so much available today is almost overwhelming to a gal wanting to learn to piece and quilt. What I tell gals who say"I can't..its too hard " is, "it's not hard, you sew together 2 pieces of fabric, that's all you can do at one time, and you can do that can't you?".*VBS*