DAMAUK

Embarking on a journey into the world of quilting was initially overwhelming. Still, I decided I needed to challenge myself, and I wanted to create an item to show my appreciation to Marta, so I stuck with it. In the previous chapter of this quilting saga, I shared my connection to the craft through my mother's founding of a local quilt guild. I'm delighted to recount the exhilarating experience of completing my first quilt.

Reflecting on the Journey

This quilt symbolizes more than just a finished project. It embodies the lessons learned, the challenges faced, and the moments of sheer delight when a pattern finally revealed itself. Throughout this journey, I discovered the therapeutic power of quilting, each stitch becoming a meditative step, every seam a testament to the joy in the creative process, and each misaligned row and column a frustrating reminder of my lack of experience.

Overall, the most exciting thing to me was how little time was required to piece everything together. I understand that in choosing simple square blocks, the time sewing everything together is minimal, but overall, I was surprised. The total time to make this quilt was around 25-30 hours spread out over, most of that time tied up in the embroidery process.

The first four days consisted of trying to convince myself to make fewer blocks and testing out different patterns until I finally decided on a field six blocks wide by eight blocks tall with a solid black border six inches wide on all four sides, bringing my final quilt size to right around 60” x 76”, which is a little larger than my initial plan of around 56” x 72”. Initially, I hadn’t planned on a solid border, but I am glad I decided to go this route as I like the looks, and it saved me about half a day of waiting around while I would have had to make an additional 15 or so blocks.

Lessons from Mom

My mother's quilt guild legacy played a crucial role in guiding me through the intricacies of quilting, and without her help, I don’t think the process would have gone as smoothly as it did. I called my mom at least once each day I was working on the quilt to make sure my plan for that step of the process made sense and just to check in and give her some updates. One of the most helpful pieces of advice I received came when I wasn’t even asking for any. I had invited her to see my nearly pieced-together top, and when she arrived, I excitedly showed her my quilt batting, and she told me I needed to find out if it needed to be “pre-shrunk.” I hadn’t even considered needing to preshrink the batting, and thankfully, I was able to prepare the batting before I had everything sewn together. It shows, “You don’t know what you don’t know.”

Looking Ahead

Completing my first quilt is not the end of this quilting odyssey but a beginning. The satisfaction of accomplishment fuels a hunger for new patterns, techniques, and projects. I’m not sure when I will start my next quilt, but I enjoyed it, and I look forward to learning new techniques like paper piecing and applique in addition to more complex quilting patterns. Conclusion.

The moment of unveiling my completed quilt was a culmination of around a week's effort. It was a tangible representation of the quilting journey that began with curiosity, was nurtured by tradition, and blossomed into a tangible work of art. It also represented my love and appreciation of my wife. I didn’t imagine I would be able to complete this project in such a short amount of time. I had assumed my quilt would take me closer to a month to complete, not a week. Access to Maker Space 307 during the long New Year’s weekend helped immensely, but I am still amazed at how quickly things came together.

No creative endeavor is without its challenges, and quilting proved to be no exception. From mastering the art of precise cutting to navigating the intricacies of quilt binding, every hurdle became a lesson, every setback a stepping stone. For this reason, I have decided that during 2024, I will challenge myself to complete at least two projects a month that require skills I don’t already have.