Where I have never gone before - Quilting 101

Wherein I learned the fine art of cutting large pieces of fabric into smaller pieces of fabric and then sewing them back together. This was something I've wanted to try for a while and so I used my Christmas $$ to sign up for the class.

The class was held at the local fabric mega mart with an instructor my daughters have had. So far, so good. I thought it would be much more frustrating than it was, but I was pleasantly surprised. I'm a terrible instructor, so I can't pass along what I learned, sadly.

We were given a FREE Olfa rotary cutter (a $45 value), a lovely package of batting samples and a 50% off coupon for the next quilting class. SCORE! During the class we were supposed to make something called "hole in the barn door". Not sure what I think of that as far as a design goes, actually.

Source - Bonus free pattern!

Ours used three colors instead of two with the North, South, East & West center blocks being 3 strips instead of 2 and the middle block being the third color. It was rather enjoyable putting it all together. I was pleasantly surprised!

Now of course, I can't ever do anything just like the instructions, so mine was NOT a typical "hole in the barn door".

"My 1st Quilt Block"

Since I was the most advanced sewist in the class, I was able to complete not only the block but also a nice border to finish off the raw edges. It is pretty OK. Not perfect, but hey, it's a *first* attempt.

The hardest part for me was getting fabric I liked to use together. In the end, I cheated (!) and purchased a set of blocks that came on one piece of fabric.

Source

I love it because the colors are soothing and have a very retro 1930s-1950s feel. Total WIN.