I did a quilt on Sunday for a brand new quilter. I had picked the quilt up at the LQS at the beginning of May. I knew the quilt was wonky, but I didn’t really take the time to inspect just how wonky. There was just something about this first-time quilter that struck me. You know when you’ve met a genuinely nice person. She was so excited about her quilt, but at the same time she was apologetic because she knew she had made it without any instruction and that it wasn’t the best quilt in the world. Still, she had made it and she felt she wanted it quilted so she could enjoy it. In cases like those, I gladly do the best I can to make the quilt nice and make the customer happy that she has embarked on this journey of increasingly more wonderful quilts. Her fabric choices were sunny and bright too, and it made me happy just to look at the quilt. So, I got it out of the bag and loaded it. OY! The eight inch squares were parallelograms, trapezoids, and rectangles. The seam intersections did not all meet, and the seam allowances were 5/8″. Still, I was not afraid, because I knew I had the miracle of the Circle Lord Baptist Fans on my side. Here are some photos of the quilt with it’s wonkiness on the frame: 
And here are some pictures of the finished quilt. You can see that the arcs of the Baptist Fan helped to smooth out the fullness of the piecing and it turned out to be a cute little quilt. The customer loved it, and I have a feeling it won’t be the last quilt she ever makes. She’s got the class list from the LQS, she now knows about 1/4″ seams and square rulers, and she was very excited to get her quilt back.
A new quilter and, hopefully, a loyal customer, is born!
Linda's Stellar Stitches 
she will LOVE it!
Thanks for taking on a newbie. It isn’t always easy, but so rewarding in the end. Several years ago while fabric shopping, I overheard a local professional longarm quilter loudly telling a first time quilter she was not going to waste her valuable time trying to quilt the woman’s quilt. She went on to point out all of the faults and criticize the color choices as well. I wanted to stuff a jelly roll in her mouth!! The quilter was so embarrased, she just stuffed the quilt back into her bag and hurriedly left the store. I quickly followed her out to her car. I apologized for the way the “professional” had treated her and assured her that not everyone felt the same way. I offered to take her quilt home and do it for her “free of charge”. All I did was a simple all-over meander and her quilt looked pretty decent when done. She was thrilled. She had been prepared to never quilt again but after seeing her completed quilt, she decided to give it another try. She won several ribbons this year at major quilt show. I just try to keep in mind that at one point, we were all beginners. We need to encourage more and discourage less!!
Damn you are good and brave LOL… Looks wonderful all quilts are made with love and more love is added by the quilter, great job… Hope the shoulder is better today sending hugs
Brave maybe, but don’t let that good stuff get around! It will spoil my reputation. 😉
Amazing!
Great Story to start my day off! Thanks Linda!! You’re right I think a new quilter is born!!
great job Linda thanks for being so kind and working through this first time quilters wonky quilt. It will pay off I am sure. One day she will probably win awards as well because she was able to persevere. BF makes any quilt look good , great choice.
Wow, that looks great; the issues certainly aren’t showing now! I have a feeling she will make another one–you made it look so beautiful AND you treated her first effort with kindness and respect. I LOVE Baptist Fan and this quilt was PERFECT for it!