Everyone Starts Somewhere...

When I saw "French Braid Quilts," by Jane H Miller & Arlene Netten, I was instantly hooked. I decided a while earlier that I was going to make a quilt for my Mom since she had never received a quilt but had them made for each of her grandchildren. I took the book to the fabric store and started picking out batiks. It took me several trips to different stores to find all the batik fabrics that would blend to make the braids.

Some of the 14 braid fabrics, before cutting.

Love the end one, it looks like clouds.

What was the most difficult part? First, selecting the fabrics. Then re-reading and understanding the instructions; this was my first quilt! Cutting took me several evenings as I laid out my piles for each braid in order. Then I started piecing my first braid, instant addiction! As the braid grew The Engineer liked it more and more, encouraging me in my new found hobby. I couldn't put it down, 2 hours later I finished the first braid.

Wow! I surprised myself.

I painstakingly planned this quilt with 5 braids instead of four and added two strips to each braid so the quilt would be long enough to have a nice hang on my Mom’s bed.

 Two Chicks, two Ladders and a cold windy day. 

Thanks Heather & Brianna for braving the ladders & wind to hold up a quilt.
The patchwork back, glad I over bought fabric this time. 

But that's not the whole story. The quilt has never made it to her bed, rather it 's on the back of her couch so she can show it off to all of her visitors. If I'd known she wasn't going to put it on  her bed I would have made a smaller quilt and and changed the colors to match her living room!