My First Quilt with Shannon Fraser

It's the last Friday of the month (say, what???), which means it's time for our My First Quilt interview! This month Shannon Fraser is sharing the story of her first quilt with us. Shannon is a pattern designer and self-proclaimed "colour and textile lover who accidentally stumbled into quilting!" 😊

You can connect with Shannon at her website, on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and by signing up for her newsletter.

And now, here is Shannon's first quilt! It's so fun!

All photos in this post courtesy of Shannon Fraser

What year did you make your first quilt? What prompted you to make it?

2015. I'd discounted quilting as something I'd be interested in until I stumbled on a HST tutorial, got curious, made one, then 2 and, before I knew it, I was well on my way to making my first quilt!

What techniques were used in that first quilt? Did you quilt it yourself?

It was a deep dive in all things half-square triangles. I didn't know anything about what I was doing. I didn't know I was supposed to trim my dog ears or even trim down the HSTs! I learned about quilt sandwiches, cried while I quilted it on my tiny domestic sewing machine and then figured out all about binding. The latter eventually had me committing to learn how to hand sew, so that I could nail my blind stitch on my binding!

Who taught you to make the quilt?

YouTube, trial and error, and some lovely guidance/suggestions from my Montreal Modern Quilt Guild Members!

Are the colours you chose for your first quilt ones you would still choose today?

Yes! Surprisingly my taste is bold colours and textures hasn't changed!

Did you fall in love with quilting right away? Or was there a gap between making the first quilt and the next one?

I fell hook line and sinker in love from my very first HST. It was as though I'd found my creative home and I haven't looked back since! That was almost 9 years ago and I'm so thankful I didn't stick with my initial thought that quilting wasn't for me!

Where is the quilt now?

Sitting in my ever expanding pile of completed quilts!

Is there anything you wish you could go back and tell yourself as you made that first quilt?

That I was about to embark on the most creative period of my life, and that it would teach me not only how to reconnect and trust my instincts, but also connect me with a community that is near and dear to my heart.

Anything else you want to share about your first quilt?

I love going back to my quilt and seeing all the 'imperfections'. They remind me of just how far I've come in my quilting journey. Plus, that quilt with all its 'imperfections' brought me hours of comfort as I snuggled under her!

Thank you for sharing your first quilt with us, Shannon! I love that HSTs were your gateway into quilting 😊