Little Ways Quilts: 2013

Welcome to my blog! My name is Jessica, and I'd like to start off by giving a little bit of my background, and how I came to love quilting, and sewing in general! When I was younger, my mom was always working on some sewing project, so I learned early on how to use her machine, and did small projects. In fact, the very first quilt I made when I was about 8, and it was a tiny nine patch block for a doll. The first large quilt I started was for my sister's wedding, and since I didn't have a sewing machine, I went to Walmart and got the cheapest Brother machine they sold. I did most of the cutting while on summer break at my parents' house, and then most of the quilting in my dorm room. I went to a military college, so someone making a quilt in their room was quite unheard of. This earned me a nickname (Gramma Bryant), and a steady stream of customers needing mending (think guys roughhousing in dress uniforms!) and patches sewn on. The quilt ended in near disaster, and sat for a couple years after my sister's wedding, until my mom mercifully suggested we bring it to AnnMarie to have finished. Not only did she do the quilting, but she did some major repair work to the back and all the binding! Amazing…but after that I took a break and did small sewing projects (a little quilt for my new niece…I vowed never to piece flannel and minky together again!). About a year and a half ago, I got out of the military to be a stay-at-home mom, and really got into quilting. The next big quilt I made was with some Kumari Gardens fabric, and also has some glaring issues, but I got it DONE. I may have one entire section of seams offset because I couldn't do a 1/4 in. seam right, and I may have spent hours ripping out some machine quilting designs gone horribly wrong. But…I've learned so much since then, and if you're still with me…here's some photos of my completed quilts!