Well, it finally happened. After many, many years of very deliberately avoiding it, I HAVE BECOME A QUILTER, sort of. and in doing so, I also came to realize that my reasons for avoiding it were sound. Quilting is addictive and I have an addictive personality. Since I discovered the Take 5, 3 weeks ago, I have completed 8 tops. I suppose I should explain.
A couple of months ago we went to an open house in Chicago and met Kathy Brown from the Teacher's Pet. She did a demonstration on her Take 5 patterns which I thought were very interesting so I bought one of each, came home, and promptly threw them on my desk and forgot about them. 3 weeks ago, I picked one up and actually read through it and decided to try it, BAD MOVE. since that time I have made 8 (tops), including 2 for Christmas presents.
Kathy's premise is that a lot of quilts require so many fabrics to complete that it becomes intimidating before you even begin. With her patterns you can take 5 minutes to pick out 5 fabrics ( a bit of an exaggeration), and in 5 hours you have a (64X76 inch) quilt top, and she was right, I finished my first one which is now out being quilted, in 4 hours, 38 minutes.
And then, to make matters worse, we got the Accucut machine and purchased the Take 5 die. My second top took 3-1/2 hours.
Whether you are a beginner, or a seasoned pro looking for a real quick, but impressive project, you will LOVE this pattern, and if you're anything like me, you will soon find interesting ways to tweak it.
My first two were standard take 5's; for my third and subsequent tops, I added an additional row to make it longer, and then I added some sashing and called it Take 5 on steroids. I also found out that the standard size makes a great tablecloth. The patterns are listed for sale in my eBay store, Pookie's Fabric and Craft Place or you can contact me via this blog to purchase the pattern or any fabric I have listed in my store.
The last picture is of the actual pattern which is 7.99 and the other pictures are some of the quilt tops I have made.
Unfortunately, I can never leave well enough alone, so, after making a couple of them according to the directions, I tweake it a bit. I added an additional row and, in one, I added some sashing.
If you are a beginning or aspiring quilter, this is an EXCELLENT way to jump in.
