This quilt marks a couple of firsts for me. It is my first ever scrap quilt. It's true! I have been quilting since '78 and never, ever attempted a scrappy project.
I must say, I am thrilled with the way it turned out! The second first, is the finishing. This quilt is bound for Utah and will be tied in an old-fashioned sort of quilting bee. The quilts will be tied by volunteers and the recipients of the donated quilts. There will be at least ten quilts tied at this event. In order to have it ready, I needed to sew the backing on like a pillowcase or an envelope and then finish the opening that I used to flip it right side out. I was a nervous wreck about attempting to finish it this way, but it is done!
When I first decided I wanted to create a quilt and donate it to my sister-in-law's cause, I searched for a pattern that I could use that would make use of my enormous collection of scraps, but that wouldn't be too difficult.
While searching I came across Bonnie Hunter and her scrap users system. She has a quilt a library of free patterns, all designed to be made with scraps. I decided on Bricks and Stepping Stones because it looked like a good first scrappy quilt project. Translated, it looked "easy". Quilting scrappy is not something I have ever been comfortable doing. It just seems a bit too random for me. But, I had some scraps that seemed masculine and appropriate for the Bricks and Stepping Stones and decided to move ahead with the project.
The 4 patch stepping stones seem to twinkle across the quilt. Some of the fabrics used have been in my stash since the early 80's. I am so glad they could be used and I am excited abou the possibility of quilting scrappy more often. Not that I need another project!
