My First Sew In

Last Saturday I went to my very first 'sew in'.   I was invited to go through a fellow Potholder Pass participant, Heather,  who started the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild.   I was excited and nervous too.  I hadn't made a quilt or did anything 'quilty' in a very long time.  Prior to the sew in I decided that I was going to make runners for my kitchen table for either a season, or for specific holidays.  So I packed up all my 'Irish' fabric, and machine, and some snacks and went! 

I met some really nice women who are incredibly talented.   AND totally forgot to bring my camera..... UGH.  They women have serious stamina too.  I arrived at 9:00 left around 3:00 and was exhausted and they were still going strong.  

I had many questions and they were very gracious answering all of them.  Here are a few of the things I learned.  

Number 1.  You don't have to wash all your fabric before you cut out your pieces.  Wish I knew that before!

I told them that the last time I was quilting I only hand quilted the tops.  That's when I learned 

Number 2.   HAND is a four letter word!   :)  

Number 3.  When free motion quilting make your pattern on paper.  Run it through your machine without thread, then pin it on your quilt and stitch right on the paper.  GENIUS!

Number 4.  Experiment, try new things. 

I went with Wonky for my St. Patrick's Day runner which is a bit out of my comfort zone.  My runner's almost finished.  I just need to put the binding on.  I will post pictures soon!

Happy Quilting!