My First Quilt with Rianne Doller

I'm not entirely sure where March went 😆 Here we are at the last Friday of the month, though, which means it's time for a My First Quilt interview! This month we get to learn about Rianne Doller's first quilt.

As a quilter, Rianne shares her love for storytelling, art, community, and nature in the works she creates. For the nature and community aspect, she finished two master degrees. For all the other things, she started a social enterprise called Kick Ass Quilts. With tutorials, stories, and community projects, she spreads the magic of eco-conscious quilting!

You can connect with Rianne at her website, on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Patreon.

And now, here is Rianne and her first quilt! It's so scrappy and fun 😍

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

I think it was around 2015 when I was doing my first master's thesis. Although I love the whole researching thing, it was a challenging time for me because I had to do many social things that scared me. Quilting helped me to relax and also offered a way to escape. I could create something that made my brain happy. And I could forget about my thesis doing the mindfulness quilting work because my first quilt had MANY small pieces. 

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

I made templates by hand from cardboard. I drew all the pieces and pieced them together by patchwork. 

The quilt was quilted by myself by hand. 

This quilt was also my first step into experimenting with quilting with all kinds of fabrics. Because people kept telling me you couldn't quilt with x or Y and, being the headstrong student I was, I wanted to prove them otherwise :P. So I asked for textiles on FB and I raided my mom's quilting scraps and this quilt was born!

Furthermore, in this quilt, I learned basic scrap quilt principles and colour theory. Especially the concept that every quilt becomes a whole if there is a red thread in the fabrics chosen. Which, coincidentally, in this quilt was a specific red fabric!

Who taught you to make the quilt?

I taught myself based on the quilting basics my mom taught me. I always love figuring out my own quilting designs with graph paper. 

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

Yes, I still love scrap quilts. However, if I would make this quilt again, it would probably be a bit more calm. 

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

Yes! Quilting works very well for my brain. Since I properly started, it has been my way of making sense of the world around me. And to express my care for people and the world with the quilts I make. It makes me happy that these days I have much more social confidence and I can spread the magic of quilting with others! With tutorials, networking, community projects and more!

Where is the quilt now?

In my home. I still use it in self-care, healing sessions and empowerment for myself. 

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

Yes, your seams should be at least half a centimeter big!

Anything else you want to share about your first quilt?

I really made this quilt with full confidence in myself and zero restrictions. This helped me a lot to discover my own creativity and to find creative freedom in the art of quilting. This helped me a lot to become the quilt artist and confident person I am today!

So I encourage everyone to go for it if you have a crazy quilting idea! It'll probably work out, and they make the most fun personal crazy interesting quilts!

Thanks, Rianne for sharing the story of your first quilt with us!