This basket quilt is my first attempt at quilting. I had wanted a quilt for a long time, had no idea how to make one and, after looking into having one made, knew I couldn’t afford buy (they were very reasonably priced, just not in my budget at the time).
I started this quilt in 1982 when there were very few quilters and I had no idea what I was doing. I bought some fabric and a book and got started. There’s a lot to be said about naivete’ because I probably wouldn’t have made this quilt if I had any idea how complicated and long the process would be. It is a small queen size and made of all cotton fabrics. I machine pieced and hand quilted it. In 1985, machine quilting hadn’t really caught on. The baskets are outline quilted with a duplicate basket shape quilted in the plain blocks.
The biggest mistake I made on this quilt (and there were many) was using high loft batting. I didn’t know better! Especially since I planned to hand quilt. I couldn’t using the rocking method because of the thickness of the quilt sandwich, so I quilted it using the “punch/pull” method in a quilt hoop that had a floor stand. “Punch/pull” quilting is sticking the needle in from the top and pushing it back up with your other hand from under the quilt. It took forever! It’s a wonder I finished it! I started the quilt in 1982 when we lived in Petersburg, Illinois, and finished it after we moved to Troutman, North Carolina in 1985.
Tidal Creek Quilts 