After some deliberation and chatting back and forth, my friend Amy Beth decided that she wanted to try to make a quilt as her next sewing project. That’s definitely in my wheelhouse! Of course, I have never tried to teach anyone how to quilt from start to finish, so I’m trying my best to do a good job instructing, giving encouragement, and gently correcting when necessary (as we all have to do when piecing!). I also don’t want to overwhelm with information, but also want to give as many tips and options as possible, because ultimately her method of constructing her blocks and quilt may end up different from mine, which is totally okay!
After looking through several books and at inspiration online, she decided she wanted to do a Rail Fence quilt. It’s a nice easy, but lovely (and can be dramatic based on colors/values) quilt, so we went shopping last weekend to find her fabrics. She had one colorway in mind when we entered the store, but totally fell in love with this fabric, so her colorway completely changed by the time we left.
The fabric has a lot of color choices for coordingating, and the design is so beautiful. She decided to use it both in the quilt and in the border. That piece of purple to the right will also be a slim inner border. She also chose a combination of blue, light green, and beige, and I love that she chose varied patterns on each.
We used scrap fabrics from the apron project (plus one more from stash) to practice cutting and piecing. This was the practice piece she did – 2 rail fence blocks, and they’re nicely done.
This week, we started her real Rail Fence quilt, and I can tell she’s happy with the colors and fabrics she chose, plus her piecing of the blocks so far. She seems to be enjoying the process, and her confidence is building.
Before she started piecing the blocks, we laid the pieces out in several different orders, and even though she liked elements of each of them, this was the layout she liked the most, and thought had the most graphical punch. I agree! I think it’s going to be an awesome first quilt.
She pieced her first 20 blocks, and her quilt will have 80 total, with a 1.5″ inner border and a 5″ outer border (that beautiful focus fabric). Once she finishes piecing the quilt, I plan to show her how to quilt it using a walking foot on her domestic machine (I’ll quilt one of my pieced tops with my walking foot at the same time). That way she’ll have an idea of the entire process from start to finish.
Oh, lovely! She got some great fabrics, and what a great start! really off and running. You two have fun!
You said: “She had one colorway in mind when we entered the store, but totally fell in love with this fabric, so her colorway completely changed by the time we left”…ahhh, that’s it, she’s hooked! Sounds like you are setting her off on a good path. Have fun with your new recruit!