Back to Quilting!

Now that the 'business' of finding/buying a new vehicle is complete I can get back to what's really important... quilting!  Next order of business is to make up the flip-flop BOM for Foothills.  Here's Louise's sample:

 I'm not usually an applique-er, but this should be fun... and I 'wouldn't mind' <G> being the winner of these blocks at the July meeting!    I was looking in my old files for the picture of the Sunbonnet Sue I did for an earlier BOM.  While naturally I couldn't find it this morning (should have copied and saved it when I came across it a few days ago - SWC!),  I did find earlier ones I made, back in the 80s when I first learned to quilt (and did ALL my work by hand!)

As long as I'm showcasing early work, here's MY VERY FIRST QUILT BLOCK!  Again, all the piecing is done by hand.  My quilt stitches may not be small, but I'm pretty proud of how even they are.  And they did get smaller with practice.

Here's the first quilt I made, mostly while I was camping in Colorado.  The Ohio Star top was finished back in the 80s but then languished for years until I decided I was probably never going to get around to quilting it, and had Cynthia (one of the Busy Bees) quilt it by machine.  It's much happier on our bed than hidden away in the cabinet.

The next quilt is the Tumbling Blocks one I made while pregnant with Lisa.  It was a labor of love, and I had no trouble finishing it before she arrived.  The balloon fabric in the sashing was what I used for the curtains in her room, and for the changing table.  With a fire engine red crib it was a very happy room !

When I made one for Alex, 2 years later, it was touch and go as to whether I'd finish on time.  The kids are 25 months apart, so with a 1-year-old toddler to care for there wasn't quite the free time I had with my first pregnancy!   (Happy to report that I did finish in time, with 3 days to spare!)  I'm particularly proud of this one because I didn't have a pattern to use, just a picture I'd seen in a book, so I had to draft my own.  And remember I was new to quilting then.

And that's our trip down Memory Lane for today.  Hope you enjoyed it - I know I did.