Sierra Zambarano

Ms. Hirshfield

English Project 4AE

27 April 2012

Senior Project Journal

Essential Question: How do I most effectively teach myself to sew and design quilts?

This past week I have interviewed with Rebecca Szetela and begun my quilt. I have also decided on a log cabin pattern for my final piece. I went to Joanne Fabrics in Westford over the weekend and selected the materials that I will be using for my quilt. I have pre-washed, dried and then ironed my fabric.  I practiced using my mom’s sewing machine, and threading the machine as well as the bobbin several times.  I learned how to use the rotary cutter and cut the fabric into the strips that I will need for my quilt.  So far I have cut the fabric, pinned pieces together that were not long enough, and stitched the strips into the correct length.

I learned a lot through my interview. The interview helped me decide on what I will be designing for my final project and brought me closer to answering my essential question and creating my quilt. After speaking with Mrs. Szetela, I realized how much time and effort it would take for me to create a bed-sized quilt.  Mrs. Szetela recommended creating a wall hanging, which gave me the idea of creating a smaller lap–quilt.  I can still show off the sewing and quilting skills that I have learned, without having to rush through because I selected a project that would be too time-consuming.

The interview was the most helpful part of my research because of all the tips and ideas that Mrs. Szetela was able to give me about starting my own quilt.  She is a sewing teacher and runs her own business.  She was able to teach me about what her own students struggle with and how I can most effectively create a quilt.  She also told me about the local sewing stores which supply the best materials, which is something that I couldn’t have found in a book.  She knew what patterns were easy for her students to start with and was able to give me some great ideas about the design of a quilt (like the log cabin pattern). The tasks that I have accomplished this week helped me get started with creating my quilt.

In the future I hope to start measuring out my block pieces and sewing them together into individual log cabin pieces. I have decided on using a log cabin pattern and need to get started pinning and using the machine to start assembling the pieces.  Through my activities this week I learned that I need to be careful about following steps. I almost forgot to wash my fabric before I cut it.  Creating a quilt is a step-by-step process and I learned that I couldn’t just jump right in and start sewing.  I have to think about setting up all the different pieces and making sure that I’ve pinned, pressed, washed and layed out my materials before starting.

I’ve also learned from this project how willing people are to helping you out if you just make an effort to ask. I found Rebecca Szetela through her website and she immediately replied to my email and we were able to set up a time that would work for us both to meet. She had so much energy and so much knowledge that she wanted to share with me and really got me excited about starting my quilt!

The evidence of my progress can be seen in the pictures and my interview write-up. I created a transcript of the interview and have pictures showing the steps I have taken towards getting my materials together and starting to sew.