Quilt Basics

            “Oh, it’s gorgeous, “ exclaimed everyone with genuine admiration as I held up my newly sewn together sampler squares with sashing.” The Beginning Quilt class that I am taking at the local community college has turned into more than just another continuing education class. My inspiration to learn to make a real quilt is my newborn grandson, Austin, and the stash of luscious bright cotton print material that Hayden and Jessica have given me from their frequent trips to African countries.  Perhaps because my grandson’s other grandmother crochets so beautifully and has already made several gorgeous blankets, was an incentive to consider it.  I had visions of becoming a skilled quilter without knowing what that might entail.

            I admit I did not take to quilting instantly.  In fact, I came home from the first class overwhelmed with handouts of seemingly impossible patterns for quilt squares that required measuring, math ability and spatial thinking. Quilting is all about attention to detail and the ability to visualize putting shapes together like a puzzle. Could I really do this?  I’ve never been a whizz at puzzles. I needed some specific tools that I didn’t have like rotary cutters, a cutting mat, and different sizes of special rulers – both square and rectangular and a walking foot for my machine which I'd never heard of. The easy way out would be to just cut squares and put them together as I’d done before… so perhaps I didn’t need a class. After all, I’ve been sewing all my life. But that isn’t real quilting.           

            I let my initial dismay simmer for a day or two until one morning  I went into my drawer of fabrics to see what I had.  Sara, the quilting teacher, advised us that directional prints aren’t easy to work with as a beginner, so I put those aside.  It was the luscious piece of celestial blue cotton fabric with dark blue and silver swirls that leapt out at me. Jessica had bought it in Cote D’Ivoire on her last business trip and given it to me for my birthday.  The silky feel to this unusual print suddenly became my inspiration. I was not sure what I was saving it for but I suddenly knew how I would use it.  Sara told us “find a piece of material you love and let it lead the way”.  Before I knew it, I was down at Foam and Fabric, in south Asheville looking for complimentary fabrics to go with it – a dark navy blue with a subtle pattern to bring out the swirls, a soft gray to complement the silver swirls, and even a Caribbean turquoise blue to bring out an accent in my main piece that I hadn’t noticed.  Putting together the colors excited me because I’ve always had a strong sense of how colors go together or don’t.  This would not be a cute baby quilt but an elegant one. It would be a one-of-a-kind, part African  handmade quilt, for Austin to crawl around on one day.

            Once I had invested in the fabric and the tools, which can be pricey, there has been no turning back. I set up my 30 year old trusty Singer sewing machine and practiced cutting squares and triangles with a rotary cutter until I got it right. Then I started following patterns for the 4 Bar Rail Fence Block, the Maple Leaf Block, Jacob’s Ladder. Flock of Geese, Arizona Block, Ohio Star Block, and others discovering it was fun to do.  

            Each week all of us in the class bring what we have worked on that week for “show and tell”. It is surprising how we have quickly bonded as we critique each other’s work.  “The colors are wonderful.”  “Look at the perfect points on those triangles.”  “That sashing is just the right compliment to bring out your other colors.”   “How did you do that? “Where did you find that pattern?  I love it.”  And so it goes each week as we get to know each other better.

I wonder if there is something in the nature of quilting that connects women in some invisible way.  After all, women have been quilting for hundreds of years both for the utilitarian aspect of making quilts but also for the friendships and support formed around a sewing circle. I had never experienced that but only read about it in novels.

 Today at “show and tell” I took out my nine-square sampler quilt in vivid blues with the navy sashing and turquoise corner squares I had worked hard on all last week. The warmth, genuine admiration, and acceptance I felt from this group was unlike anything I had experienced in a long time.
 “Hold it up so I can take a picture,” one woman said to me. "Tell us again where the fabric comes from... a country in Africa, right? Holding up my half finished quilt I suddenly felt good about myself.  I will miss this class and the group when it is over with but perhaps I will consider joining a quilting group.