Isn't this just too funny?

I have noticed many blogs talking about first quilts in the last few days and I always find this subject interesting and fun.  I think we can get great insight and some laughs to see where we all started and how far, (or not), we have come in our quilting adventures.  Did we start out piecing and end up appliquers?  or did we stay piecers? 

When I started quilting, a fellow quilter told me laughingly that, “you either have the applique gene or the piecing gene”.  It didn’t take me, or others around me to their relief, long to realize I had the applique gene.  I think this was pretty clear with the first quilt I made and truthfully, this is the first quilt I ever made.  I wanted to make a baby quilt for my second baby and I did not have any quilt making skills, or know anything about the construction process really.  I did have excellent dressmaking skills and thought arrogantly, “so how hard could it be sewing those basic pieces back together with straight seams?”.  Oh my was I a babe in the woods ripe for a slap of reality.

Quit laughing!

Every time I look at this poor quilt I can’t help but start cracking up.  I remember making it like it was yesterday.  I remember those borders vividly and how when I got to the corners, it was such an, “uh oh” moment.  I didn’t even bother to think that I needed to make sure the measurements were correct so everything would match up correctly.  Heaven forbid I should go back and make it right!  The fact that I just CUT OFF the half square triangles of the sawtooth pattern to make it fit makes me cringe today.  I call this my ”broken tooth” pattern. 

Is this not sad?

I knew I wasn’t going to quilt this, can you imagine? so I just tied it.  The bottom line is, I kept trying and I put effort into learning and getting it right while still having fun in the process.  I laughed then and I laugh now at my pitiful efforts, but I did not let it frustrate me, but inspire me to do better and keep moving forward.  I never blamed any mythical quilt police as an excuse for not trying my best.   I think it is fun to go back once in awhile and see how far my skills have come.  Especially when I start to doubt myself.

See?  I didn’t start out making those national Best of Show quilts.   I was obviously far from it!

©2009 Sandra Leichner http://www.sandraleichner.com