Good Morning, Quilters!
As I mentioned last week in (Does Quilting Skip a Generation?), my daughters will be joining us at Lori Kennedy Quilts/The Inbox Jaunt as they begin their quilting journey! Nora will introduce herself today and tomorrow you will meet Faye.
Please give them a hearty welcome as they begin both blogging and quilting at the same time! They would LOVE to hear about YOUR beginning experiences and receive YOUR expert advice!
SO GLAD YOU ARE HERE, NORA!
Hi! My name is Nora. I am the eldest of the six Kennedy children and am thrilled to join my mom and all of you here! Let me tell you– my mom and her work are even more delightful in person and I am excited to take part in this special project with her!
A bit about me: I recently left my job in marketing at a technology company to pursue the domestic arts as a stay-at-home mom with my son Henry (2.5) and Hugh (8 months). My husband and I live in western Wisconsin in a small town along the St. Croix River, not far from my parents, and we love it here!
I LOVE QUILTS
I have always appreciated my mother’s and aunts’ love of quilting and have long benefited from their sewing– clothing for my American Girl Doll, Halloween costumes, party dresses, custom bedding, a beautiful wedding quilt, baby blankets for the boys…the list goes on. Yet, I have never had any real desire to pursue sewing projects of my own. In fact, I have long avoided getting roped in.
INSPIRED TO DESIGN, BUT DO I HAVE TO QUILT???
Recently, while scrolling through Instagram, I came across the cutest stack of fabric ( aka “fat quarters’’– I still don’t understand this term!?) and inexplicably felt the urge to purchase it. With fabric en route to my house, I sifted through Pinterest and found a quilt I thought would look perfect adorning my bed in the Spring.
The next day, I packed up the boys and headed to my mom’s house for playtime and mac’n’cheese (always in stock at her house) and to present her with the project. The conversation went something like this:
“Hey Mom, I bought some awesome fabric and found a picture of a quilt I like.”
“oh yea!?”
“Yea, can you make it for me?”
My mom shot me a funny look. “umm NO. but I will help YOU make it.”
I threw my head back and laughed “Mom, I don’t quilt.”
That’s roughly where the discussion ended and I was content to give up the notion.
MIXED SIGNALS AT THE LIBRARY
Not long after our exchange, on my way out of toddler story time at the local library, I saw a book on display that caught my eye: Quilting for Beginners.
A sign from my mother?
I grabbed it to check out but the librarian informed me I had a $10 fine on an overdue book—for a baby board book with 12 words in it!
I didn’t have any money on me….
Oh well. Thwarted again!
TO QUILT OR NOT TO QUILT??
Fast forward a few months…I was still feeling kind of tempted to finally dive into a quilting project of my own but wasn’t sure if I could commit. So I came up with a list of pros/cons. See below.
My husband saw my scrawl and said something like, “those are just excuses.”
Ok, ok, ok.
CAN ONE QUILT WITHOUT MATH?
Maybe he was right, but the bottom line is I am a beginner quilter if there ever was one.
And Math was never a strong suit, remember?
Surely this would be prohibitive.
But I’m going for it!!!
Afterall, I regularly tell my toddler “he can do anything”!
Time to follow my own advice…
I CAN quilt! So here I go!
PLEASE SHARE YOUR IDEAS!
My first project will be small so as to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Any advice on good beginner books?
Favorite Videos?
Other resources for a beginner?
Do share!
Until then…. (more cute photos of my boys)
Yours in spirit but not in skill,
Nora
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt. For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com. Thanks!
