You can connect with Hilary on her website, on X, on Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube, Tiktok and, Facebook.
And now, here is Hilary's first quilt! Don't you love a good recycled denim quilt?
What year did you make your first quilt? What prompted you to make it?
I made my first quilt back in 2008, I don't remember exactly why I wanted to make the quilt but I know I wanted to make it as a gift for my Dad. My Granny Opal was a quilter but she passed away in the Fall of 2006 before I got into quilting. At that time I had been sewing on and off for about 4-5 years, but I mainly made little crafty projects or garments.
What techniques were used in that first quilt? Did you quilt it yourself?
My first quilt was a blue jean quilt made from old jeans, plus some denim I bought at the fabric store because I ran out of jeans. I remember making a template out of cardboard to cut out some of the pieces and all the pieces were cut with scissors. I didn't even know what a rotary cutter was at that point in time. The quilt just had basic piecing and I quilted it myself on my tiny Brother sewing machine. I think the throat space was only 5 inches or so and I outlined each block at 1/4". Trying to force it through that little machine was a workout. I made my life even harder by using a high loft polyester batting in it too.
Who taught you to make the quilt?
No one, I followed the pattern from a magazine, read a few sewing/quilting forums, and kind of made it up as I went. This was the time before the convenience of YouTube. I was in college at the time so I didn't really have anyone to show me what to do. My Granny Opal was a quilter and it was something I always wish I could have learned from her, but she passed away in 2006.
Are the colours you chose for your first quilt ones you would still choose today?
Probably. The quilt was made from recycled blue jeans, and I actually have a blue jean quilt top sitting waiting for me to quilt it. I love the idea of using reclaimed textiles in quilts and I want to try and do it more. My Granny Opal (If you can't tell she's my quilty inspiration 😇) made many of her quilts out of old shirts and dresses, and 9 times out of 10 the quilt back on a quilt was an old sheet.
Did you fall in love with quilting right away? Or was there a gap between making the first quilt and the next one?
There was a bit of a gap between my first quilt and the next one. Since I was in college at the time, crafty endeavors happened sporadically. Especially when I did a semester away for the Disney College Program in the Fall of 2009.When I moved into an apartment my senior year I did make a little Halloween table topper. It wasn't until I was pregnant with my oldest son William a couple years later that the quilting bug really bit.
Where is the quilt now?
My Dad still has the quilt since it was a gift for him, and he uses it all the time. He and my Mom are retired and travel around in their RV part of the year, as you can imagine space is limited when they're on the road, but the quilt is always along for the ride.
Is there anything you wish you could go back and tell yourself as you made that first quilt?
No. I'm really thankful that I jumped into sewing and quilting at such a young age. I started sewing at like 13/14 and I made this quilt when I was 19. There was this freeing mindset that I just wanted to make, I didn't have any preconceived notions about how it should look, or if there was a right or a wrong way to do something. There was just the determination and excitement to do it. I honestly only tell myself to take more pictures of the process. 😆
Anything else you want to share about your first quilt?
I really wish I had more photos from when I was making this quilt, back then I posted it on a site called Craftster.org but it has since shut down. I have one photo from back then before I gifted it to my Dad, and thankfully my Dad sent me this adorable one of him with the quilt a couple years ago.
Thanks for sharing the story of your first quilt with us, Hilary! I especially love that your Dad still takes his quilt on his travels ❤
Oh goodness, it is so clear that Hilary's dad adores the quilt she made him!! <3
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