This is part of how it all got started. Someone asked me since I could sew, could I make a quilt for the silent auction for Texas Democratic Women of Collin County. I said, “Sure!” and then I started to panic. But I found this pattern somewhere online. I ordered the pre-cut old denim squares from someone on eBay. Then I found some red kerchief-looking fabric, some varied red flannels and started cutting and sewing. This is a rag quilt, meaning each square is its own individual quilt sandwich, flannel + batting + red kerchief + denim. Each square is quilted, in this case, with an X or around the star cut-out. Then the squares are sewn together, with the unfinished edges going up. After they are all sewn together, you cut the into the edges, which will cause it to fray upon washing. I used osnaburg for the batting because here in Texas we don’t really need the heat and osnaburg ravels up nicely. This was purchased at the Blue Boot Bash on October 24, 2009. I can’t remember how much it went for, but I believe it was close to $200. All the bidders were obviously under the influence of alcohol.

Before I started on the big rag quilt, I tested out on a small rag quilt, which Phoebe adopted.