Where it all began

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.

Well, perhaps not at the very beginning (I sewed a couple of bags and failed to make placemats earlier), but at the beginning of my quilting journey. So, here is my very first 'quilt'!

 the mark in the top right is from candle-wax, can't seem to get it out whatever I try

It's technically a quilted table-runner, but it involved most of the principles of patchwork and quilting, so I think it counts. It's based on a 'Diary of a Quilter' tutorial. I saw her pictures and thought they were absolutely beautiful. Such pretty fabrics! I didn't have any fabrics that lovely around, but I did have some good solids left over from the failed placemat project (picked out to match our lounge cushions) so I gave it a go. And I've never looked back!

with the vaguely-matching cushions

I loved the process of putting it together. One of my favourite things about quilting is the variety: choosing fabrics, choosing or designing a pattern, patchwork, quilting and then binding. Even if you're not enjoying one of the stages, the next is never far away :)

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed hand-sewing the binding on at the end. I originally tried to sew it on with the machine but broke a needle in the process (woops) so was forced into giving it a go. It was quite a relaxing process. Surprisingly the join (the most difficult part) went much better for me on this, my first attempt, than it did in later quilts. I've now however found a different binding tutorial which makes the process much neater, thank goodness!

So that's where my quilting adventures began. Since then I've made a few more quilts (proper quilt quilts, rather than just table-runners) which will be popping up here sometime soon.

Bye for now!