My First Quilt with Maude MacDonald

It's the last Friday in June, which means school is out and we officially have no children in high school anymore. That just blows my mind! Nathan says it hasn't really hit him because right now it just feels like any other last day of school. September will feel different for all of us, though, with him heading off to university and leaving just the two of us here at home.

It being the last Friday of the month also means it's time for another My First Quilt interview! This month my fellow Canadian, Maude MacDonald is sharing the story of her first quilt.

Maude MacDonald is a quilter, author, and designer who creates quilts and patterns, teaches people to trust their taste, and helps creative businesses find a look and voice that actually feels like them. She loves bold colour, old things, and doing things her own way - and believes perfection is vastly overrated while making things meant to be used, shared, and remembered.

You can connect with Maude at her website and on Instagram.

And now, here's Maude's first quilt! It's the first time we've featured someone whose first quilt was a t-shirt quilt!

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

Winter 2018 - I needed a Christmas gift for my Dad & didn’t have a lot of money to spend.

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

I guess it was traditional patchwork- I made my Dad a t shirt quilt with scissors, about 5 safety pins, no clue about interfacing or the process of quilting. I literally just went for it.

Who taught you to make the quilt?

Me and a hope and a dream lol

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

Oh no! This was a t shirt quilt made of mostly my Dad’s old NASCAR shirts. 

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

Well after this one I decided my stepmom needed a quilt for Christmas too, and that led me to the fabric store. After that my mom requested her own quilt and insisted I use a pattern which was a trip around the world, and with the combination of these three quilts I was hooked.

Where is the quilt now?

My Dad still uses it in the winter. It has wool batting so it’s really warm (I wasn’t aware at the time it was wool batting!) 

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

Maybe a few structural things, like how to baste or even use a dang rotary cutter! But no- I went for it and completely discovered quilting accidentally and on my own and I think that’s how it was meant for me.

Anything else you want to share about your first quilt?

The first one, third, tenth even wasn’t perfect, but I had fun making every quilt I’ve made and they all are loved and used.

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