my first quilt!

and, equally wonderful, i actually finished something!



this is a small quilt made out of an old, inherited (when buying a house) curtain, an old chair covering (which we got used) and a nice, flowing skirt which had the misfortune of being torn by a washing machine. i really like all of these fabrics, so i couldn't stand the idea of cutting them up into small pieces for patchwork. so large bits and applique it was.


this ensured that the first step, of making a nice front, could be done quickly, and i could try my hand at the thing which is actually quilting: transforming fabric by sewing a great many lines through several layers of material. i went in for wavy lines similar to the plant tendrils of the chair covering. forestalling the inevitable scrunching up of fabrics near the end in places, because i knew i hadn't been very exact in assembly, i had folded the thin skirt material in a very artistic way. i think it worked, in that the unplanned scrunching is quite well camouflaged.

then, to fit it around a round board, i used the lower end of an old top and got a nearly perfect, usefully elastic fit.

(the filling was an old baby blanket and the back an old shirt. i'm not trying to make a virtue out of reusing stuff here, even though it is a virtue -- just saying why i think i'll call this one "the old quilt".)

i am pleased and we have a new message board. picture suitably shrunk to please privacy worriers.