Teaching Quilting

A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to do something different – I was teaching quilting to my mom.

My mom learned to sew in the day of home economics for all girls, and made a substantial part of her wardrobe (probably from high school through her 20’s), so she is not new to sewing.  Teaching someone how to piece quilt blocks is a lot easier when the person already understands what a 1/4 inch seam is and why consistency matters.

Three generations of quilters in action!

Learning to Quilt
My mom and grandma did make a quilt at some point before I existed.  They used 4 inch squares of fabric leftover from clothes my mom made – a mix of fabric types.  They cut it out using electric scissors, sewed it together, and tied it.  My mom still uses it on the bed when my parents go camping.
Learning to Quilt
There are differences between quilt piecing and clothing sewing (or how she sewed when she did it a lot): seam size, using a rotary cutter, using 100% cotton fabric, pressing instead of ironing, etc.  Either way, she was a fast learner.

Block #2 We Can Do It! Skill Builder Sampler

For her first block, I chose a block based on 9 patches.  Straight lines in squares are always a good place to start.  I did selfishly choose colors that would work with my “Real World Red & White Sampler”.  We did the 9 patch block from Sewn By Leila’s We Can Do It! Skill Builder Sampler.

Learning to Quilt
For her second block, I introduced half square triangles.  We did the Pinwheel block from the same sampler, which was really just adding some tips to the Pinwheel Parade Block by V&Co.
Pinwheel Parade Block
My mom’s visit was great, and went too fast as always, but I’m glad we got to spend some time together doing something we both really enjoy.Linking up to Whoop Whoop Fridays @ Confessions of a Quilt AddictFabric Frenzy Friday @ Ft. Worth FabricSewjo Saturday at My Go-Goo LifeAnything Goes MondayFabric Tuesday @ Quilt StoryWiP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced, and Let’s Bee Social Wednesday @ SewFreshQuilts.

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