Believe it or not, I used templates for the TATW I made! Back then, we
didn't have rotary cutters, so even the simplest pattern was made using
templates. I think I made mine from sandpaper, though, not the plastic-y
thing in the bacon package!

Louise in Iowa
wrote in message
.net...
The first quilt that I actually have memories of is the one that my Dad
owned. My great grandmother, my grandmother and my aunt had made it for
him. It is red and white and I have never seen another like it and I
have never come across a pattern for it. I am going to reproduce it for
him. My parents used it on their bed for a while, but then it was
relegated to use as a floor covering for babies and toddlers since the
linoleum was so cold. My brother and sister and all of my cousins used
it in that way. It still exists but it is worn and is not used. (Of
course there have been no gbabies to use it yet and we all now have
carpeting.) My first quilt was a red and white print and white bacground
quilt I think it was a flywheel block with white sashing (It is packed
away carefully). The one I use all the time is a print of small flowers
on black with a white background and white sashing. (I wanted black and
white but my grandmother would have been bored to tears making it) It
has a green back and binding that matches the green in the print.

My grandmother was the only quilter in my family that I knew - but she
never taught me. When we were around she put her sewing aside unless she
needed our measurements. She was a great seamstress and used to work for
London Fog. We had flannel pjs every year for christmas, and we had
school clothes made for us when we were in elementary school.

Just a little thing- we never threw away the plastic-y board in the bacon
packages because my grandmother used those to make templates. She would
mark the fabric with pencil and then cut the shapes out by hand with
scissors. She did end up with a cutting mat but I don't remember her
using a rotary cutter (I think she tried it but didn't like it).

I am now the only quilter in my family. I am in the process of making
quilts for members of my family starting with the grandparents. I am
making one for my maternal grandmother (the other grandmother) now. I am
making lap quilts mainly because that is what they will use. When I get
to my parents and my siblings and cousins I will be making bed quilts.

Julie
Richmond, VA




said...
In an e-mail replying to Diana's thread about getting started in
quilting,
Julie said she always had a quilt in her life thanks to her Grandmother.
That got me to thinking (a dangerous thing at this time of day when I'm
tired from work!). What's the first quilt you remember in your life?

Like Julie, mine was one from Grandma. It was a Trip Around The World in
fabric from the 30s and 40s (I'm guessing on that part). I remember it
being
on my bed upstairs in the old farmhouse we lived in, and I'd sit and
trace
each "trip" with my finger. I'm sure it was hand quilted, and I just
loved
that quilt! When I finally learned to quilt in the 80s, TATW was my
first
project, and I think it might still be my favorite pattern.

So what's the first quilt you remember (even if it was from just last
year)?

Louise in Iowa