My Life as a Rag Quilter

       My mother had a younger sister.  Her name was Marjorie.  When it came to aunts, Aunt Marge was the best.  She did not have any daughters, just two sons, so she enjoyed her relationships with all her nieces.  Over the years she stayed in close contact with all of us and took an interest in everything we did.  Aunt Marge was also my Godmother.  So she was extra special in my book.
      Every summer, when I traveled to my lake house in the Adirondack Mountains, I would stop overnight at Aunt Marge's house to visit with her and my Uncle Ted.  They were always busy.  I loved seeing all the projects they had themselves involved in. Uncle Ted built boats in the garage and Aunt Marge loved to sew for herself and other people (especially children). It was not uncommon for her to have several things going on at the same time.  Her sewing machine was always open. Aunt Marge was thrilled that I was quilting.  She enjoyed hearing about the projects I was involved in and often encouraged me to try the things she was doing.  That's how I got hooked on rag quilts.
     Shortly after I started quilting again, Aunt Marge presented me with a soft comforter that she made. She called it a rag quilt.  I had never seen one before.  I loved it; not only because the colors were perfect in my family room, but also because it was so warm and soft.  I use it often in the winter, wrapping myself in the quilt and curling up in my favorite chair near the fireplace.

   The quilt is made with 42 eight inch squares of soft flannel.  The total size of the quilt is about 44 x 49".













     Of course I wanted to try my hand at making rag quilts.  And I did!!  For a while I was rag quilt crazy.  I ended up making five rag quilts for Christmas presents.

                          A space-themed rag quilt for my nephew, Matthew

              Hearts and flowers in delicious little girl colors for my niece, Ally      

              Another flowers and stripes in candy colors for my niece, Kathleen

      Then I decided that I'd make a couple more for my two best friends, Barb and Lynn.  Selecting fabrics was starting to be fun. There were so many choices. I tried to choose themes or colors that went with the recipient.

Lynn's quilt used bright, light colors, just like her house

Barb's quilt was a camping theme
                                  

This was also the first time I signed my quilts

       But of all my rag quilts, the one I was most proud of was the one I made for my husband, Tom.  He loved using my quilt when he watched TV.  He hinted that he too would like a rag quilt, but he would want it larger.  So I went to work on his Christmas present.  I decided the color theme would be blues and whites to match the colors of his high school.


        To make the quilt larger I used 12-inch squares.  On the square in the upper right corner I added something a little special. I cut the front off of a tee shirt and sewed it to the square.  It was the best present I gave that Christmas.  And not a day goes by that the Benedictine quilt is not used.
      This past summer I found a quilt shop in Fly Creek, New York that had a fantastic collection of flannel.  I selected a collection to make one more rag quilt......for ME.  A person can never have too many rag quilts.  
      All my quilts are special to me but now my rag quilt from Aunt Marge is even more special to me since we recently lost her.  Aunt Marge died after a very courageous battle with cancer and went home to be with the Lord.  Every time I finish another quilt I miss sharing my joy with my godmother and favorite aunt.  But I have a feeling she and my Mom are looking down from above with smiles of approval on their faces.  


             

Sew, the Time Has Come to Be a Quilter....For Real

        I finally retired in June of 2008.  The next phase of my life was out there right in front of me. It was now or never.  I decided it was time to get real about this hobby of quilting. At least give it a try and see if I still liked it.
       My local sewing store, JoAnn's, advertised a beginner's quilting class.  What better place to start then at the beginning. Aunt Tillie and Grandma had given me the desire. But after talking to my Aunt Marge, who was presently doing quite a bit of machine quilting, I realized I lacked the basic skills for today's quilting projects.  So I signed up for a series of lessons.
       When I arrived at the first class with my trusty 40 year old Singer sewing machine, that Grandma had given me for a wedding present, the supply list was the first thing that greeted me.  If I wanted to be a quilter it looked as if I needed a lot of "stuff" that I hadn't accumulated as a garment sewer: rulers, more rulers, mats, rotary cutters, blades, markers, special pins, and of course, fabric; lots of fabric. Well, this had better be my new calling, because I was jumping in with both feet.  Out came my credit card.  I bought all the supplies and the book that, along with the teacher, would be my guide.  Here I go!!!

     After struggling once again selecting my fabric (eggplants came back to haunt me), I found the project to be quite interesting and ideal for a beginner.  This book even devoted a whole chapter to selecting fabric.  It was made for me!!   First I learned about the basics of measuring and cutting.  And then when I started to put the blocks together my world was opened up to half square triangles, flying geese, nine-patches, log cabins, strip sets and chaining.  And I found out the hard way about the importance of your 1/4 inch seam.  As of today I have accumulated quite a stack of quilting books but I still refer back to Hawley's book from time to time. It has served me well. 

    This is my "almost finished" project from that first quilt class.  It is a nine block sampler that measures 54 1/2 inches square.  I've got the backing fabric ready to go.....all I have left to do is QUILT IT!!  Little did I know that this was the beginning of another collection:

       UFO's.............UnFinished Objects

       PIGS's.............Projects In Grocery Sacks

       or PHD's.............Projects Half Done

      My only regret is that Grandma, Aunt Tillie and Mom weren't around to see the results of all their teaching and encouragement.