What made you choose the pattern?
I "designed" it. Much later I found out it is a variant of Jack's Chain, with plain squares instead of nine patches. I used leftover fabric from my sister's and my clothing projects.
Did you finish the quilt? If not, why?
Yes, I started and finished it in 1975, when I was living with my then-boyfriend, now ex-husband. We were summer house-sitting for a professor at the college we both graduated from.
What do you love (or hate) about the quilt?
I love the colors. I hate that I used some stretchy knits. I hand quilted it using a large hoop and making gigantic stitches. I learned that hand quilting is not my thing.
What would you do differently next time?
I would not do anything different, given what I knew then and what the results are. When I see an article on the first quilts of famous quilters, I look at my first quilt and say "Not bad."
What was the most difficult aspect of the project?
The hand quilting was the most difficult part of the project. I have done quite a lot of needlework but mostly on much smaller pieces. As with the entire project, I was making up what to do as I went along, with the idea that a quilt has a top, a backing and batting -- what else is there to know?
Tips and Tricks
- Use cotton fabrics
- Avoid hand quilting if possible
- Don't put the quilt on your bed and let the cats lie on because they will snag the fabric with their claws and mess it up.
