Quilting In These Modern Times

Back in the day, when the day was about 9 years ago, which is when the oldest grandgirl was born, my dearest sis and I embarked on the tradition of making the grands quilts. I had learned to quilt in 1978, and was all about the scissors and templates, hoops and hand quilting. That stuck until the the fifth quilt. A few things happened.  The quilts started stacking up.  DSis bought a Bernina, helped found the Modern Quilt Guild in Las Vegas, and subsequently retired.

I will be honest here.  I didn't know modern from schmodern. Quilts are quilts are quilts...and are mostly for covering up with. So anyway, back to DSis retiring and leaving Las Vegas and moving into the hot bed of America's quilting heartland. Her mad skilz took off like a rocket, and she was all...maybe we should look at some of the more recent innovations in the quilting industry.  I was all...this was how I learned to make quilts and this is how I am going to die making quilts.

Variation of Card Trick with 30's reproduction prints

And then I got laid off again, and picked up a part time job at a LYS that was opening an fabric side. I needed to let go of the past, all be it kicking and screaming, and let myself get dragged into these modern times. I had fun for the few months I sewed for a living. My mother's legacy lives on, and I am truly grateful for the life skills she taught me. Also, I honed those rotary cutting and chain piecing skills!

"Sisters" with 30's reproduction prints

Grandgirl's six and seven quilts were cranked out lickety split! I even machined quilted, although it was simply quilting in the ditch.  The intricacies of free motion still elude me, but as many things, I am sure it's just a process of learning.

16-patches from FCMQG block bee and hour glass block

I still sew with my mid-century Singer (the Rocketeer) but I bought myself a Janome, too.  (By the way, save yourself embarrassment.  Jay No Me.  I asked the man in the store about the Jaynoms.  Oops.) I joined the local MQG.  I even met DSis at QuiltCon in Austin for fun, amusement, and education in what the heck Modern Quilting is.

The photos are of a few of my recently completed quilt tops.  The top two are throw sizes, the bottom is now larger than the photo shows, more of an oversized queen. I cranked these out in the last week.  Fast as lightening! Quick as winks! Goodbye to the olden days!