The party starts today, November 10th and runs until November 18th. Soma has put a lot of work into making this an extra special event and has lined up a whole bunch of wonderful sponsors. You have a chance to win prizes from some of your favorite bloggers and shops, just for participating! So make sure to go check it out, write up a post, and come and join in the fun over at Whims and Fancies!
Soma is an amazing pattern designer in her own right. She is especially gifted at creating paper piecing patterns and figuring out how best to draw the lines for ease of sewing, yet still capturing all the wonderful details for her designs. She's also an incredibly sweet, funny, and interesting person. Getting to know her and becoming friends has been one of the highlights of my blogging adventure!
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Have you always been good about documenting your quilts and quilted projects? I know a lot of you use your blogs to do just that, but also that many of you kept albums and journals before becoming bloggers.
Although I have sewn almost all my life, especially since the days of 4H Club, it wasn't until 2011 that I made my first real quilt. Pre-blog, I didn't do a very good job of documenting the quilts I made. Usually, I didn't even take photos! I have a tendency to give quilts away as fast as I make them too. So, when it comes to a trunk show of my own quilts, I am at a bit of a loss.
We do still have one of my quilts in our home. It's my very first quilt - a One Block Wonder. I had no idea what I was doing and only knew that I loved Maxine Rosenthal's book and thought I'd take a stack and whack at making a quilt like hers.
Here is a photo of the fabric I started with:
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| Ralph Lauren Lakota Paisley in Eucalyptus |
So there it is, in all its wonky wonder: The quilt that started it all for me.
It is made from a heavy, suede-like Ralph Lauren home decor fabric. I didn't know any better. It's so thick wherever seams meet up that I still haven't quilted it. It does have batting. Ha! - Fusible batting that I accidently squashed flat and stiff while ironing. Also, you might get a chuckle out of this, I thought bindings were supposed to be like blanket bindings, so the binding on this quilt is 2 1/2" wide. I did put a 1/4" border on the top first though.
Despite all that, there is something to be said for diving in and giving things a try, even if you don't know what you are doing. This quilt has hung in our living room ever since the day it was
Oh! I also have photos of one more early quilt - a Wavy Log Cabin that I made for our neighbor Rita, after she lost her beloved husband Alan. They were married for a little more than 70 years and still so in love. He made her laugh, always.
I really love Log Cabin quilts. To me, they epitomize everything about the warmth and comfort you associate with quilts. Someday I need to write a blog post about this one and share the foundation paper piecing patterns I made. I made it with Rita's favorite indigo blue colors and she was thrilled with it.
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| Rita's Indigo Log Cabin Quilt |
That is just about all the old photos I have for my trunk show. It's a very wee trunk. More like a shaving kit. I'm short on time right now, so am going to refer you to another page: If you'd like to see some of what I've made since I started Buzzinbumbling around, please check out my Good and Done page.
In the meantime, I hope to see you over at Soma's Whims and Fancies!
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I love your OBW! And I think the blanket width binding adds a very nice frame. Oddly enough, I started with a OBW as well, it still needs to be bordered and finished. It's on my list to finish before the New Year's.
ReplyDeleteI still like to look at your kaleidoscope quilt, admiring the various hexies. However, I didn't know that you've made it with such a fabric. I guess assembling the hexies must have required a heavy-duty needle. The corners must have been something to manage! You certainly cannot make a stitch-in-the-ditch quilting. lol As for not quilting it, why would you need to? I don't see the need if it's on a wall. The texture must be fantastic as it is. And I think your border is fine too.
ReplyDeleteI also like you log cabin, particularly the contrasting effect created by the centre square. And the pale flowery blue next to the darker blue. This quilt makes me think of a cabin on a sea shore, surrounded by sand. :-)
I like your 'wee' trunk show. I am going to have to make a log cabin some day.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought is don't you dare change anything about that first quilt, it's such a great story that I think so many of us relate to, I love the fabric you used :). My first quilts fell apart because I sewed the border on with such a small seam allowance so it wouldn't interfere with the blocks. We learn as we mess up, LOL.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing your first quilt...the OBW ! And, I think you have been a designer from the get go.... because you made up those embellishments... the inner border and that "fancy Wide Border" !! That's unique, and does go so well with your quilt!! I have not made one of the OBW s yet.
ReplyDeleteIt is fun to look back and see how much we have journeyed in our sewing adventures, isn't it?
And I agree with everything you have said about dear Soma , at Whims and Fancies!! She is amazingly creative and sweet!!
hugs,
Susie
Oh Lara! That first quilt is stunning!! And the Log Cabin is also gorgeous! I am so glad you took the time to open up your wee trunk!
ReplyDeleteBoth are lovely Quilts Lara! Log Cabins speak to me in the same way, the epitome so to speak. The trunk show sounds great, I will try to get a post together!
ReplyDeleteThose OBW never cease to amaze me and yours is no exception. I am definitely going to have to do one of those some year. I loved seeing your quilts, Lara. We all began with such lofty ideas and it is great to see the progress over the years.
ReplyDeleteGreat choices to show, you have such a wonderful eye for color and placement. So glad you are part of the show and tell :)
ReplyDeleteYour "wee" trunk show is huge in gorgeousness...love those quilts!
ReplyDeleteI love log cabins too - whenever I see one in a quilt show I gravitate towards it without fail! Loved your description of your kaleidoscope!
ReplyDeleteI hope to share a quilt in the quilt show today too. It is fun going back and seeing quilts made previously - oh how much we learn along the way!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your quilts and your progress as a quilter. It is fun to look back.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing quilt to start out iwth! You are certainly very very brave. So brave that they should write poems about you!
ReplyDeleteReading about your first quilt was interesting ... As Patty D said, it's fun to look back and see our progress.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilts Lara, one of my first was a log cabin quilt also!
ReplyDeleteHow delightful to look at your first quilts! I made a log cabin to begin... that usual overconfidence of the beginner. Delightful one-block wonder.
ReplyDeleteThese are lovely Lara... I'm glad you were able to share them with us!
ReplyDeleteI definitely did not do a good job of documenting my early quilts. It didn't even cross my mind to photograph them or document them in any way. One in particular was super hideous... it was for my senior English project on the book "The Lord of the Flies". I cut out (9) 12-1/2" squares and hand painted on various scenes from the book on them (the center panel was a pig head on a stake). I pieced them together with a jungle leaf print for sashing, backed it in a solid green, and pretty much just stitched in the ditch around the large blocks. It hung in the school library for a year and then was given back to my mom, a science teacher at the school. I held on to it for a few years but ended up donating it to Goodwill. Can you imagine what they thought of it?!? I'm sure it's in a landfill, and on more than one occasion I have *wished* I had a photo of it.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks for letting me ramble in your comments and for sharing your first quilt. I don't think any of us really knew what we were doing or getting into when we made our first quilts!
This is the best "My early quilting..." story I've ever read Yvonne! That's the great thing about being a new quilter - we didn't know enough to be scared, LOL. Oh my gosh though... Lord of the Flies? With the pig head on a stake? Ha ha ha ha. I think you made my whole week!
DeleteI love your "rambling" by the way.
Ha! Your poor longarmer! ;-) Ah, well, your OBW looks beautiful to me, and it must please you or it wouldn't have a place of honour in your home. Maybe you don't need to change a thing about it!
ReplyDeleteHow lucky you still have your first quilt to show us as well as the fabric it started out with! It won't need quilting I'm sure, and now the batting is stiff it will have given it the best texture to be hanging up. As for the binding, these days binding is usually narrow, but who says it has to be?
ReplyDeleteI always intended to put a portfolio together of all the quilts I have made over the years, but never got further than the intention! Will have to check out the trunk show...
How wonderful seeing some of your older quilts. They are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI love your quilts. Beautiful
ReplyDeleteThank you for the sweet compliment Linda! I'm replying here because your comment came to me as a "no-reply".
DeleteI love your quilts. Beautiful
ReplyDeleteLovely quilts! I want to try a one block wonder quilt one of these days!
ReplyDeleteI love your one block wonder!! The log cabin is gorgeous as well. I have taken pictures and documented in an album from day one :) I guess I was pretty proud of what I now know was a bit disasterous, hee hee!
ReplyDeleteI really like your one block wonder. It is amazing what it can transform fabric into. I love that you used a heavy weight fabric, I bet it gives a really cool look and texture to the quilt.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Both quilts shown are lovely - and it is so interesting to hear the stories behind them....and what a fun quilt to start with! I need to get better at labelling my quilts - at least I have the info on my blog to help out when I do get around to having a label session!
ReplyDeleteYou make me blush, Lara! Thank you! That was your first quilt??!!! You really are incredible! I love it! So don't touch it. At all. Leave it as is. The log cabin quilt is gorgeous and I can tell that you made it with so much love. Thank you for sharing them with us :)
ReplyDelete-Soma xx
Lara, I laughed so hard when I read your OBW story. First, I think the quilt is fantastic and please don't do a thing with it!! It truly is wonderful!! I did the exact same thing for my first quilt - microfiber suede and wait for it. . . Ralph Loren home decor BURLAP!! Yes, burlap. . . scratchy, definitely the antithesis of snuggle worthy LOL That quilt still lives on our bed in the summer! Oh, and I did not quilt the burlap - there is a strip that is over 100 inches wide and about 36 inches tall that has NO quilting on it. . . hehe
ReplyDeleteThat wavy log cabin!! OH.MY! It is absolutely gorgeous!! Yes, it definitely deserves its very own post :)
Really Lara, your first quilt??!! Amazing. I keep looking back at the original fabric to try to figure out where the various blocks came from. I like the binding/border, too. I don't put borders on quilts much anymore, but this is kind of a neat way to do it, even if narrow bindings are the trend now. I agree that Log Cabin quilts are warm and comforting. And they can be made to fit anyone's style! Your trunk may be wee, but it's wonderful! (and I know the trunk on your site is full of all kinds of yummy, too.)
ReplyDeleteHaha. Well I enjoyed seeing your shaving kit show. I haven't made a one block wonder or a log cabin for that matter, but have always been intrigued by them. There is something to be said about not knowing how to do something. I think you are more brave, because you haven't learned yet that it is considered to be difficult.
ReplyDeleteI love your Ralph Lauren quilt!!! Definitely something wonderful about starting without "knowing" the "rules". Quilts made with non-traditional fabrics are really neat, and I can picture yours. The bulky seams may be an issue, but I bet the texture is fabulous. And I love that extra wide binding. Who cares for ALWAYS ALWAYS 1/4" bindings? Sometimes I have to mix it up and freak some people out with non-traditional binding approaches.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous log cabin! thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteI just made my first log cabin last year, they sure are fun! Your one block wonder is stunning! Wowser! Thanks for sharing your wonderful quilts
ReplyDeleteI think every quilter needs to have a log cabin under their belt (and in their trunk). LOVE the one block wonder - stunning.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe your first quilt was such an ambitious one! Just goes to show though, doesn't it, what we can achieve when we don't know any better? And the log cabin is just downright lovely.
ReplyDeleteBoth of these are stunning !
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Lara. Both of the quilts showcased here today are absolutely stunning! I really can't decide which I like better as I'm partial to both. I've finished 2 of each since I started quilting and have a 3rd LC in the works for my bed.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed at the effect from the first fabric - I just wouldn't have expected that. Isn't it great to reflect on where we started and the ideas we had of what we could achieve then. I sometimes think I need to try and recapture that sense of adventure and get it back into my quilting.
ReplyDeleteYour first quilt! Wow! I've been wanting to try quilting for a while now and with my beautiful new sewing machine I'm quickly running out of excuses :-)
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Lara your quilts are just gorgeous! I love them both.
ReplyDeleteI love your "wee trunk show." You chose great complex designs for your first quilts, and they turned out beautifully!
ReplyDeleteSimply stunning both of these quilts, well done!
ReplyDeleteLove the way your one block wonder turned out. Aren't they fun to do, revealing the mystery along the way?
ReplyDeleteI am in awe of you starting your quilting with a one-block wonder quilt! I've only recently discovered these, and haven't (yet!) made one. I agree that you sometimes just have to dive right in to these things. The log cabin quilt is beautiful too ... a favourite of mine too! The first quilt I made was for my brother's wedding. I bought a book on how to make quilts and worked through all the lessons in the book and then made a bear paw quilt for him. It took me two years to finish, and he only got a token quilt square as a wrapped wedding gift!
ReplyDeleteWendy
Love your one block wonder. I think you made a really smart fabric choice because the blocks are subtle. Really wild prints can be challenging to put together. Your quilt is a real stunner. That log cabin quilt looks like a quilt that is meant to be loved. Thanks for the trunk show!
ReplyDeleteWell, you might have used the 'wrong' fabric and the 'wrong' batting and made a 'wrong' binding but there's something very RIGHT about that quilt! I love it! I think it's so fun to look back at how we started and see how we've grown on our quilting journey. The log cabin quilt is so beautiful and I'm sure it is loved. Thanks for joining in the trunk show! :)
ReplyDeleteYOur posts are always so fun to read!! COngrats on your truck show win...this quilt is very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteJust diving in is the best way to start something new! I love your One Block Wonder quilt just the way it is and don't think you should change a thing!
ReplyDelete