Everyone has a first...

Introducing a printed top. In my life 'before quilting', my passion was cross stitching.  With small children underfoot, having those two hours (every evening) with a needle in my hand cross-stitching was my sanity.

Somewhere in my USA travels I found this kit in the 'reduced' bin for 7$. It was printed in blue wash-away ink with this lovely pattern, and included the threads.

SO..who could resist?  The cross stitching worked up quickly with huge stitches, but when it came to quilting I was lost.  In my childhood, my (much) older sister had made quilts on an enormous frame in her living room.  

How could I do this while we traveled?  A woman at the fabric shop said I needed a hoop...so my embroidery hoop (10 inches) became my quilting hoop.

Another person told me to baste the layers together first, which I did- around the edges. Next I threaded a HUGE needle with double layers of regular sewing thread and proceeded to follow the lines, making really uneven stitches without the benefit of a thimble.  As unlikely as it seems, I was hooked.

The motif in the centre had no quilting lines, so when I was done quilting the whole centre was poofy as if there was a cat caught between the layers.  Feeling very much like a failure and a cheat, I stitched where there were no lines to make this lay down.  Totally convinced I had broken some rule about the 'right' way to quilt, I was still very pleased with the final outcome.  

The edges are turned under and ladder stitched all around the edges to make a blunt finish.  Binding was well and truly something that wouldn't have entered my mind.