How is it the last Friday in June already? 2024 is certainly flying by! Since it is the last Friday of the month, that means it's time for a My First Quilt interview, and this month Cristina De Miranda is sharing the story of her first quilt. Cristina is a Canadian modern quilter and owner of Ships & Violins, which offers quilt patterns, workshops, lectures, and blogs for adventurous quilters.
And now, here is Cristina's first quilt! It's so fun and colourful!
What year did you make your first quilt? What prompted you to make it?
I made my first quilt in 2018 after a colleague introduced me to the craft. She showed me a picture of a quilt she had made, it was colourful and featured appliquéd graphic monsters. I was so impressed that it inspired me to give quilting a try. I scoured the internet for a quilt pattern that excited me and landed on Criss Cross Apple Sauce by Vanessa & Co. I purchased some quilting tools (I already owned a sewing machine) and a bundle of her ombre fabrics. I recall the financial investment was a little daunting, but I wanted to give it my best shot and have a quilt that I would like at the end of the journey. I then binged a Craftsy workshop by Gail Kessler and set to making my first quilt.
What techniques were used in that first quilt? Did you quilt it yourself?
The pattern is block-based. The "X" blocks use the stitch-and-flip method. It's always a little scary cutting into expensive fabric, but I talked myself through it. I kept the offcuts and made a mini quilt with them that remains a UFO (unfinished object). The method required a lot of matching between blocks, which I gave up on doing pretty early on in the process.
I quilted the top on my Janome Fashion Mate using straight lines on the left and right of the vertical and horizontal seams. The stitching is wild - large stitches, tiny stitches, wibbly and wobbly stitches, but I finished it!
Are the colours you chose for your first quilt ones you would still choose today?
Like many new quilters, it's simpler to use a quilt kit when getting started. I loved using all the colours in Vanessa & Co.'s ombre bundle, and I hope to use some of the colours again in the future.
Did you fall in love with quilting right away? Or was there a gap between making the first quilt and the next one?
Yes! I loved the motivation it ignited in me. I was often running up to my sewing room to make progress on the next step of the process, and this excitement and creativity was something I really needed at that time in my life.... and something I still need today, 6 years later.
Where is the quilt now?
On my couch!
Is there anything you wish you could go back and tell yourself as you made that first quilt?
Not really, but I suppose I'd like her to know that quilting would become one of the most important sources of her personal, artistic, and professional growth for years to come.
Thanks for sharing your first quilt with us, Cristina! I'm so glad your colleague introduced you to quilting so we could 'meet' you.
I'm super impressed with Cristina's quilting on her first quilt. It looks amazing to me!!
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