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Quilting Patterns and all Kinds of Quilty Treasures

How Many Years Have You Been Quilting?

By Deb - Quiltblox on June 10, 2023June 8, 2023

In the last issue of the newsletter, I asked you to share with me how many years you’d been quilting. The responses I received were so fun to read! Those of you that responded have been quilting for less than a year – to more than 54 years! Not only did so many of you tell me how many years you’d been quilting, but some of you also shared a bit about how you got started with a needle and thread in the first place. I love hearing from you!

Here are just a few of the stories you shared with me – some of them have been abbreviated:

  • Patricia B. – I made my first quilt 52 years ago. The quilt was gingerbread men for my 4-year-old child. 
  • Claudia M. – I started a quilt when I was in college in the ’70s.  I used a cardboard template I had made and cut a bunch of triangles.  I was not following a pattern and I quickly realized I would never finish it.  So, I took the pieces, somehow sewed them together, and used them for the bodice of a “granny” dress I made for myself. I started seriously quilting in 2011 when I retired.  I took lots of classes and finally had some finished products. Now I am still making quilts, doing a lot of indigo dying and Shibori, embroidery on everything from quilts to bags! 
  • Kim V. – I started in 1980, watching Georgia Bonesteel on OPB every Saturday morning … so 43 years now.
  • Anita B. – 41 years … and climbing!
  • Pat G. – 10 years – but with a few breaks.
  • Patty W. – I have been quilting for 30 years. The 1st quilt I made was for my daughter. I thought if it was for her, I would finish it. Hand pieced & hand quilted. She still has it! Completely self-taught. I have grown as a quilter & designer over the last few decades. I have never looked back!
  • Cindy A. – I started quilting when I was expecting my first baby. He was born in January 1970. I had the quilt up to last year. I gave it to my oldest son. Of course, he did not remember it. I had no one to teach me so there were so many mistakes. Just shows me how far I have come.

Where We Started our Quilting Journey

Many of us started out by making clothing or other types of sewing before moving on to quilting. It appears from your comments – that most of us would prefer not to go back to making clothing. I have to admit – I’m taking baby steps toward making some simple tops to wear. OK – I bought a couple of patterns – that counts as a baby step ; )

Several of you asked me when I started quilting and I remember it clearly. I started sewing around the age of 10 with cushion covers and curtains under the direction of my grandfather. Once I learned to sew – I started playing around with drafting patterns to recreate the shapes found in several old quilts made by his aunt (my 2x great-aunt) but hadn’t gotten too far with it in those early days. 

A Bicentennial Quilt Contest

In 1975, Better Homes and Gardens announced a quilt contest in celebration of the upcoming Bicentennial Celebration. There was a growing interest in traditional crafts happening around that time and a quilt contest fit right in with the many ways that the Bicentennial was celebrated across the country. That contest inspired 16-year-old me to give quilting a try. No, I didn’t enter the contest – but over 9,000 other people did. I was fascinated by the ways quilters at that time (and still) used quilting as a means of expressing thoughts and viewpoints with needle and thread.

I found a couple of interesting articles about quilting and the Bicentennial:

https://worldquilts.quiltstudy.org/americanstory/engagement/bicentennial

http://www.womenfolk.com/quilting_history/bicentennial-quilts.htm

The Quilts That Inspired Me?

I still have some of them. They are very old now – and in our house, they were treated as useful items – not the works of art that they clearly are. These quilts have seen decades of use (and abuse) by both family and pets. They have been in the backseat of cars on drive-in movie nights, they’ve been made into forts, all were used to cushion and protect furniture and pictures during our many moves, and each of them has comforted many a sick child or a tired adult. I’ve added pictures of some of those quilts below.

Antique Patchwork Quilt in Wool - Image - Quiltblox.com
Simple patchwork quilt – made from scraps of wool and hand embroidered.
Antique Patchwork Quilt - Image - Quiltblox.com
Patchwork quilt – the (shiny) fabric content is unknown.
Antique Flower Quilt - Image - Quiltblox.com
Flower quilt (perhaps cornflowers?)
Antique Double Wedding Ring Quilt - Image - Quiltblox.com
Double Wedding Ring – with a scalloped edge.
Antique Bow Tie Quilt - Image - Quiltblox.com
Bow Tie Quilt.
A few of the quilts I’ve inherited.

Today – they are more carefully stored away, too worn for regular use. They do still inspire me though. One of them was a Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt (too damaged to be salvaged). It’s the one type of piecing I’ve never (until now) attempted to try. I’m slowly working on my version – all by hand. It could take me years to finish it – but I am really enjoying the process.

Deb Messina - English Paper Piecing Project Progress - 1

So … if you’ve done the math – I’ve been quilting for 48 years. That’s so incredibly hard to believe. In my head – I’m still that 16-year-old making templates out of Cheerios boxes and cutting them with dress shears.


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