My Very First "Real" Quilt

For ten years, I was a "wanna-be quilter". I would talk about quilts. I would buy tons of cotton yard goods and quilt books and magazines. I would go to guild meetings. But I never actually made a quilt that was quilted.

So when I quit smoking December 31st, 2008, I discovered that I needed something to do with my hands and went back to piecing in earnest. My UFO was a matchy-uppy design made from hand-dyed orange fabric that I had made at a workshop on fabric dying. I allowed myself to arrange to have the top quilted by Linda Monasky of The Bear Paw Gallery http://www.thebearpawgallery.com/machine_quilting.html. She did a fabulous job and my life was changed. I had a quilt made, not just talked about! It went to my sister in Connecticut for Christmas and she still loves it dearly.