Everyone has a first quilt!

As the guys were taking down the Christmas quilts for me they accidentally took down one that I was going to leave up for a while longer. So then I had to figure out what to put back on the wall...it was too early for spring and summer, so I decided to go with this one that had some red in it for Valentines day.

This was my very first quilt, made in the summer of 1977, between my junior and senior year at college. It was made without any templates or instructions. I just cut out squares from scraps of clothes that I had made and put them in to rows. I thought straight rows were boring, so I figured out how to turn the squares on point. I couldn't figure out how to finish the edge, so I appliqued the squares to a long red piece of fabric. It was quilted with a group ladies about five years later, where we would take turns quilting each others tops. Little did I know that I had ventured into something that would last for many years to come. Yes, at one time, I really did make clothes...but not since I made this first quilt!!

Some of the butterflies have made it to the design wall. I'm trying to put together a lap quilt and was trying out a solid fabric from my stash. I think it is a bit bright and distracting...so I need to try something else out for lattices. I'm thinking of trying out black next... I've discovered most of the blocks have some kind of stain or marks. I've washed a few, trying various methods of removing the stains with limited success. At least the colors in the fabrics are not bleeding.

Last week I had a few minutes to stop at one of my favorite shops (which will remain nameless) on the way to the airport. Each month I try to add extra time to my airport schedule to make a stop at one of three shops. I knew this one had moved across the street since my last stop...what I didn't realize was with the new location came a new attitude. This shop always has great displays and wonderful collections of fabric. My wallet was always screaming for mercy as I left in the past, especially on days when the hidden room of Asian fabrics was open. It was the craziest place for fabric...out the back door and up the stairs to Asian Heaven.

I was hoping to find a particular Asian fabric to wrap up a project on my wall or some new batiks. After touring the whole shop, waiting at the counter for more than five minutes, while the four staff members worked on unwrapping new items and ignoring several of us waiting for help, when I asked about Asians, I was informed with quite the attitude, "We don't carry that". You would have thought I asked for a pile of dog poo! Unfortunately, this was the second time I had left empty handed and with a less than positive customer experience. I've decided it will be my last visit, as there are several other options to stop at on my monthly trip to the airport. Next time I'll write about some of my favorite stops...and include their names.