Quilting Beginnings

Practicing on a whole cloth quilt. No piecing required!

My first customer quilt.

I have a confession. When I began quilting, I didn't really like to sew. I didn't have the patience for the careful precision needed to accurately create a beautiful, finished product. Sure, I knew how to sew. I'd taken classes in school. I made curtains. I made pajama pants for my kids. But sewing just was not something I enjoyed. And now, here I am, a professional quilter. And I love it. 

It all began with a comment from my aunt. She owned a very successful quilting store until she retired, and is a quilter. She knows me so well, and has been my biggest supporter my entire life. I was showing her something with the Cricut, and she made a comment that I should consider longarming. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. I had never heard of it, but, if she was saying it to me, I knew it was something I should look into.

I began watching videos, and fell in love with the longarming process. To see a quilt top put together with backing and batting, and have a design stitched into it, ending with this beautiful finished quilt was amazing. And, it included one of my favorite things - technology! I could program a computer to do this. Long story short, after much research, I became the proud owner of a 26" Innova Mach 3 machine with Autopilot. And so it began. This was not going to be a hobby. It was going to be a career. 

From the moment I took my training, before my machine was delivered, I loved longarming. It was amazing. I couldn't imagine ever wanting to do the piecing of the quilt tops, because, after all that would require patience and precision. Nope, not for me. I loved the longarming. Pulling that finished quilt off the machine. Then, I was asked to make a quilt. 

I decided to go for it. After all, this was going to be my career, I should probably learn all of the parts of the process. And, I discovered, I loved making that quilt. There was just some kind of satisfaction in choosing the fabric, cutting it apart, sewing it back together, and then finishing it with a beautiful stitch pattern on the machine. And the joy of the person who I made it for. It was amazing. That was all it took. Now, I not only longarm quilts for others, I also make custom quilts, along with some of the other fun things I have found I can make with my machine. And, that Cricut that started this whole journey now plays an important role in my business. From making thank you cards to cutting appliques, it works for me as well. 

But I am not an expert at piecing. I am a beginner. I do lots of ripping. I watch tutorials on Youtube. I try. I make mistakes. I try again. But I love the process. I find peace in the process. 

So, I am inviting you to take this journey with me. If you are a beginning quilter, then I hope you will join me on this quilting journey. If you are an experienced quilter, then I hope you will join for encouragement and advice. I will share projects and tips, ideas and inspiration. This will be a place to share joy and frustration. A place to ask questions and get suggestions. So, lets take this journey together. 

Amy

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My first commissioned quilt - a disappearing 9 patch.