Going to Pieces: A Beginner's Guide to Quilting

Ever since the mid 1985, when the United States celebrated its bicentennial, the nearly extinct skill of quilting enjoyed a dramatic comeback about as successful as that of the American bald eagle.

Everybody loves quilts. In addition to their striking beauty-even the ugliest quilt is as charming as a redheaded stepchild-there is no more wonderful feeling than snuggling underneath one on a cold winter's night. Every one of them has a story, often told in the history of the fabrics used.

As I was growing up my mother often would say, "Someday I'm going to make a quilt." I was dubious. "Yeah, right," I thought. Piecing them together is difficult enough, let alone stitching the layers together.

Yet, after retiring, she did make a quilt. She made several of them, and she got me hooked, too. By the mid-nineties, an entire industry had grown up around the rekindled interest, sparking several magazines and dozens of books to be written. "Quilt" shops-where you can buy the goods to make a quilt, not buy a quilt-popped up in virtually every city, village, and town.

In fact, making a quilt is not hard and it's even easier now with the many modern tools and techniques that clever women (mostly women, but I know some men who quilt) began creating. Rotary cutters and cutting mats alone allowed cutting several layers of fabric in one quick slice, and with precision that our foremothers would have envied. Machine quilting techniques also evolved, making it possible to make a quilt in a weekend or two.

Following are some tips to get you started, but beware: This avocation is extremely addictive and can lead to the accumulation of vast "stashes" of fabric, computerized sewing machines, and an assortment of gizmos, magazines, and books.

My mother got me started by paying for my first rotary cutter, straight edge or ruler, and mat, and my first class as a birthday gift. All those quilt shops offer classes and they can be found within a 50-mile radius of almost any point in America, not to mention dozens of websites. I was fortunate to find classes offered in a quaint-they're all quaint-little shop nearby and taught by a wonderful teacher.