Saturday, July 30, 2011

Summer Fair: My first quilt!

AnneMarie is hosting Summer Fair: A Quilt and Recipe Show this week. I'm showing you my first quilt, which I finished two years ago. If you haven't been reading my blog since the very beginning, this might be the first time you've seen it.

My first quilt!
The story: I won a giveaway for a fat quarter bundle of Good Folks on Anna Maria Horner's blog. I really don't remember why I was reading her blog--I didn't know anything about fabric then, and I'm sure I had no idea what a fat quarter was! I came across this tutorial on Diary of a Quilter and thought I'd try making a quilt. My mom and sister had given me a sewing machine for my bridal shower a few years before (I'm sure they couldn't have guessed how much time I'd spend with the machine), so I got to sewing and was immediately hooked. This giveaway win definitely ended up costing me a bundle!

My first quilt
I didn't give much thought to the design--just sewed the rectangles together. At this point, I was in way over my head, so I had it professionally quilted. I really didn't think I'd be able to quilt on my machine, but it didn't take me long to figure that out. I was obnoxiously proud of my finished product (kinda still am).

My first quilt
My friend Leah helped me pick out the backing and binding fabrics. We picked the blue Cathedral print for the backing.


The quilter used gold thread for the quilting. A good reminder that I should be more adventurous with my thread choice sometimes. (And one of these days I'll get around to fixing that popped seam.) This is the most used quilt in our house, and it remains my very favorite.

And now, on to the recipe part of the Summer Fair! My mom used to make this taco salad recipe for our family reunions, and it just reminds me of summer. I asked her to dig it up for the Fourth of July, so it's fresh on my mind. It's definitely not gourmet, but it's a blue ribbon winner in my book!

taco salad fixins

Taco Salad


1 can chili beans or red beans, drained
1 cup shredded cheese
1 or 2 cups shredded lettuce
½ lb ground beef, browned
½ cup chopped onion
1 cup corn chips or taco flavored chips, crushed
¼ cup French dressing
¼ cup mayo

Drain beans, mix with cheese, lettuce, ground beef, and onions. Refrigerate until serving time.

Combine French dressing and mayo. Then toss beef mixture with chips and dressing.

Gen X Quilters Summer Fair
Be sure to head over to Gen X Quilters to see the rest of the Fair entries!

13 comments:

Leah said...

And just how many quilts have you made since this first one? The rectangles look good to me...if I ever get around to making the quilt for my guest room that's what it'll be!

Debbie said...

Darling first quilt! And your taco salad sounds delish - some of those 'old' recipes are the best!

felicity said...

That is one awesome quilt!

Shanea said...

I love the fabric....especially the backing. Great job!

Emily said...

Amazing quilt! My heart beats faster when I see so much of that good folks fabric all together! :)

Tracey Jacobsen said...

you had such great taste even back at the beginning! :)

(and yes, I love me some taco salad... so perfect in the summer!)

audreypawdrey said...

It is so beautiful! That is an awesome first quilt!

tam2324l said...

Katie:

I now substitute black beans in that recipe and love making it in the summer. It's one of my favorite recipes.

I'd also love to know how many quilts you've made altogether.

Love, Aunt Tammy

Toni said...

Love that quilt! Your taco salad looks great. I think that is one of my favorite meals!

Rachaeldaisy said...

That quilt is so bright and happy!! What a great range of fabrics that was! The Taco Salad looks like a recipe I'll have to try, Yum!!

Susan said...

I just love your first quilt and now I'm hungry for some of that Taco Salad. :) You were so very fortunate to win that bundle from AMH - I just love her fabrics.

Alli said...

Your quilt looks so cozy! :)

AnneMarie said...

Glad to read your "First" story - can't believe you lucked into AMH for your first! Mine was straight up Joann's fabric..:) Looks fantastic for a first! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Summer Fair! AnneMarie