The Journey Begins

Quilting has always been something my grandmothers did.  At an early age, my twin bed had a quilt on it that my Grannie, Idotha Poling, made for me.  When I graduated from high school in 1998, my other grandmother, Jorene Kirkland, made me a twin-size quilt to take with me to college.  When I got married in 2005, she made me another quilt as a wedding gift.  When I had each of my children, my grandmother made them each a baby quilt.  This past fall, she also made them each twin-size quilts.  Each quilt is unique and made with so much love.  These quilts are apart of my everyday life.  My husband, children and I curl up under these quilts on a regular basis.  They are soft and their bindings are worn.  I always took for granted the amount of work and time that went into each quilt.  I took for granted the artistry and talent that went into each piece sewn and the quilting binding everything together.

Back in April of 2011, my grandmother, Jorene, wanted all her children and grandchildren to gather together for her 80th birthday.  So, I loaded up my daughter, 22 months old, and my son, 6 months old, hopped on a plane, and flew to Amarillo, TX, to celebrate together with my family.  Jorene called all her grandchildren together and gave us each a quilt that she had made.  When she got to me, she handed me a quilt that was unique and different from the other ones.  My quilt wasn't new.  My quilt had a legacy that started well before my grandmother started quilting.  The front of my quilt, named "Peeled Orange," was hand-pieced in the 1930's by Sarah Frances Morris Taylor Faught, my great-great grandmother, in Shawnee, Oklahoma.  My grandmother, Jorene, hand-quilted the quilt in 1985.  I knew then she gave me a treasure.

After I got home, I spent a lot of time studying this quilt and the other quilts I had received over the years. Thoughts started going through my mind that told me I could do this if I wanted to.  The only problem was that I didn't have a sewing machine.  I didn't have any fabric.  I didn't have anyone around who could help me figure it out.  My grandmother was back in Amarillo, TX, and I was in Memphis, TN.  

A few months later, I was walking through Hobby Lobby and passed an end cap with pre-cut fabric.  A jelly roll caught my eye.  I grabbed it and threw it into my cart as an impulse buy.  When I got home, I grabbed my sewing kit my grandmother gave me several years back as a Christmas present and sat down to formulate a plan on what I was going to make.  I had a couple of friends who were pregnant and a baby quilt seemed like the most logical thing to put together.  I knew I needed to make blocks and I drew out a quilt using graph paper.  With a pair of fabric scissors, a 12-inch ruler, a needle and thread, I cut my fabric based on what I had drawn.  I didn't take into consideration quarter-inch seams...I knew nothing about seam allowances.  I just started piecing and trimming to clean it up.  After diligently sewing for 7 weeks, this is what I had:

It wasn't fancy, but it was done.  I then went to Joann's fabrics and bought batting (I don't even remember the type) and cuddle mink fabric for my backing.  I didn't know until after I was trying to put my layers together what a mistake that was, but I managed and pushed through any difficulties I faced.  I didn't baste my quilt.  I sewed it together like I would have a pillow cover.  Again, I didn't know any better.  After that, the idea of quilting this blanket I had just spent 2 months putting together by hand seemed daunting.  I remembered a quilt my parents had that was tie-quilted and decided that was probably the easiest and most practical way to go.  Here is the finished product:

Did I forget to mention that I also didn't have the foggiest idea how to take a picture of a quilt either? I folded it up, put it into a gift bag and gave it to my friend, Erika, as a baby gift for her daughter.

She was thrilled and surprised.  I wasn't one of those people who made gifts for my friends.  I was also thrilled and surprised that the quilt didn't fall apart the first time she started using it.  I knew I had started something that was going to impact my life.  I knew this was just the beginning of a quilting journey.