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.