We quilters can be a persnickety bunch. (Notice, I said WE.) We can tend to get a little judgmental and opinionated when it comes to the details. Is the binding cut from quality fabric or is it the packaged bias binding from a chain store? Is the binding applied in the single fold or French fold method? How did they sew that second side--top-stitched on the machine or hand-stitched? How precise are the points?

So to come clean, I thought I'd share one of my very early quilts. It was created for a McCall's Needlework special issue in 1993--it was called McCall's Quick Quilts. (Learn more about special issues in this post.) I designed this quilt in two versions--this was considered a three-color version (red, blue, and multicolored--the golden color didn't count) and a five-color version (pastels, if I remember correctly). I went looking for the issue, thinking it would clear up my memory and I can't find it! ... Wait, found it on ebay. Bought it. Meanwhile, I'm sharing a photo of the cover with you, thanks to the ebay store I bought it from.


Again, thanks to the store on ebay, I'm able to share an image of the five-color version from the pages of the magazine. It was pretty too, but I have to tell you, I absolutely loved the background fabric we used in this three-color quilt. To this day, that multicolored foliage is one of my favorites. The colors aren't the colors I'd pick now, but I love the way it worked. I got so attached to this fabric that I can tell you where I bought it--a quilt shop in Washington, Illinois. Google tells me that the quilt shop off the square in Washington is Peddler's Way. I can't tell you if that was the shop, but it was right off the square. Of course, they wouldn't have the fabric anymore since I bought it in 1992, so don't call them for it. But I'm sure they have other fabulous fabrics.

So now for the mistakes I made on this quilt. I gave you a closeup shot of the binding--yes, it was bias binding and not made from the quilt fabric. If I remember correctly, that's because I ran out of the fabrics used. But what possessed me to attach it using a multi-stitch zig-zag is beyond me! I think I wanted to get it finished and get it on the wall in my home. And probably I didn't know better. But for those of you who look at your first quilts and think "what was I thinking?" I figured knowing you're not alone would help!