Early this year, I attended my first quilting class. Some of my friends and co-workers had been quilting for awhile, and encouraged me to join them. My marriage was ending and getting involved in a new activity was a great way to get started on a new life! My youngest son was moving into an apartment at college, so I thought I would make this first quilt for him.
My friend, Jan, went with me to Sanzo's fabric shop to choose fabrics for the quilt. I found a great focus fabric that would remind Nathan of his time in Okinawa -- navy blue background with geta (the Japanese sandals), origami cranes, and other Japanese icons.
When I went to class, I wasn't sure that I would ever make another quilt -- didn't know if I would even LIKE quilting. My mother and older sister have been quilters for years and have made some wonderful quilts, but I had really never caught that bug. But Barbie, our quilting instructor, makes it so easy! And I was using a wonderful Bernina machine, so even though the day was exhausting, I felt really successful and creative! I had finished the pieced part of the quilt top in a one-day class. I was HOOKED! At the next week's class I sewed on the borders, did the machine quilting, and sewed on the binding.
When I visited Nathan in May, I delivered his quilt to him -- and he says he likes it a lot! (That's pretty effusive for a 19 year old boy, I think!)
I later used the scraps from Nathan's quilt to learn the log cabin technique -- it's a perfect size for a baby quilt, so I'll save it for Nathan's firstborn. Won't it be cool to have a baby quilt that will remind Nathan of his own first quilt from his Mom?
