Quilting... in pieces

 So my friend Kathleen and I had this dream about sewing a quilt! Then, we talked to some ladies in our church and women at the local quilting store and realized how big and expensive of an undertaking that is! So, we came up with a compromise: placemats.
 We booked one night together just to head to the quilting store and pick out fabric and its a good thing we decided to make that an event in itself- because it was. There were so many choices of beautiful fabric to sort through! We each had to choose four different pieces of fabric for our placemat design. We were at the store far beyond closing, but the quilters running the shop were pretty patient with us and helped us coordinate some of our fabric choices too!
  Fortunately, we found an experienced quilter to kind of "grandmother us" and lead us in this new unknown world of sewing. Our first lesson was last Saturday and we spent our time cutting the fabric and then creating one placemat top. I didn't realize how important paying attention to details was in the world of quilting. We were taught how to measure and cut our pieces (after a brief ironing lesson of course- its always important to iron your fabric first!). To me, that alone was an accomplishment. But then, we went further and pieced together our first top- pinning our right sides together and then sewing them with a 1/4 inch seam. We were even taught some special tricks about getting our "corners" just right! I'm learning to appreciate how much work goes into creating even a simple square quilt.

 Here are some pictures from our morning together:

Joyce showing Kathleen how to "piece" it together

 All the pieces laying tg pre-sew.

My perfect corner! So proud! Thanks for the tips Joyce!

The Quilting Queen and I.

 

 

  Now Kathleen and I are hoping to get her uncle's sewing machine working so we can finish the other three placemat tops with the help of my mom when she visits! I'm happy to be learning so much and creating new friendships at the same time!