All great ideas have an intriguing beginning, and the concept of “quilt as you go” is no exception to this rule. Although many people may think that this idea was born from the busy schedules that speckle women’s lives today, “quilt as you go” was invented out of necessity before the nation’s first skyscraper was even conceived. Many years ago, American women pioneers traveled the country in covered wagons for days on end. As there was no end to their travels in sight, often these women would have to create quilts that were to be used for warmth while they were traveling. Of course, there is hardly any room for a large quilting frame within a small wagon, so these women came up with the idea of piecing together a 12” block; completing the batting and backing; and finishing the quilting before they tackled another block. When all the blocks were complete, the women would work together in order to piece the entire quilt together, and those that traveled would finally have a warm quilt for those cold nights. This way of quilting proved to be useful and efficient, and this method is still widely used today. If you don’t have the time, or the space, to complete a large quilt all at once, do as the pioneer women did, and start quilting one block at a time. It is advised that you secure the edges and corners of your first block prior to banding them all together (just to be safe), but this technique of putting a quilt together will ensure that you can make a family quilt even if you don’t have a large amount of time available.
|
  |
