Quilter Playdate: Learning to Piece the Blocks

I am back dating this post as I’ve been distracted with life and did not post as much as I would have liked to in July. So perhaps you will see more posts for me in August…perhaps 😉

This is a follow up to the early July post Quilter Playdate and Learning to Rotary Cut.

Starting in June, my friend J and I have been helping a new quilter D learn to make her first quilt (for her baby grandson). J, who I think has been quilting since birth, ha, is taking the lead on teaching and I am tagging along and offering occasionally useful advice from my 25 years of quilting experience.

It all began with taking D on her first quilt shop hop (see post Taking a New Quilter on Her First “Shop Hop” ) where she learned to select fabrics for a quilt and get yardage cut; then she learned how to rotary cut; and a couple weeks ago she learned how to piece, press/iron, and even chain piece her blocks together.

Here are some photos from that session:

Here is J demonstrating chain piecing (she is working on the same quilt in Christmas fabrics to create examples for D as she progresses):

I love chain piecing and I always laugh when my chain of pieced blocks gets eventually wrapped around my leg/ankle – ha!

It is really cool to be part of seeing a new quilter make her first quilt. I remember when I made my first quilt 25 years ago (I used to think I made it in 1999 but I figured out it was 2000). My first quilt was a traditional “Irish Chain’ pattern, here is a photo I found recently as I was cleaning up old photos:

Weird thing – I no longer have this quilt and I am not sure what I did with it! But I remember taking a nap under it after finishing it and being so pleased!

J showed us this cool little bag that she made for her daughter and granddaughter using a By Annie Pattern and we might get together with D the new quilter and do some bag making after she finishes her first quilt.

D is an experienced seamstress so she is very comfortable with a sewing machine. That has greatly helped her while working on her first quilt.