My first year in quilting & what it has taught me - part 1

Hello,

My name is Jenni, I collect dragons. I have a 12 year old son, a dear boyfriend (here after referred to as DB) and two dogs, two cats, and a room in my house that I have staked claim to for the long haul.

I inherited my grandmothers sewing machine when she died and my son was 1 year old.

I decided one day to use her, to make a quilt.  I hadn't sewn since home economics in the 7th grade when I successfully made a pillow.  The dress that we were assigned to make is still a UFO. I knew then that while sewing was fun for me sewing clothing wasn't.  Fast forward many many many years and here I was 37 years old deciding to make a quilt.  I googled how to make a quilt, I watch Crafty's classes free online, I watched many hours of Hey Quilting episodes  http://www.heyquilty.com/index.html.  I made a plan.....

I made it out of denim.  The majority of which came from my size 28 jeans all the way down the pile to the size 22 jeans. I had decided that I was NEVER going to be that fat again. So turn them into a quilt and memorialize the almost 100lbs I had lost.

What this quilt taught me...
1. People start from patterns for a reason. Especially when they are first learning a new skill.  KNOWING that someone before you has been there done that and that it can be done is a wonderful thing.
2. There is also something to be said for just jumping off the deep end and diving in with no real clue as to how to get from point A to point B.  If you are successful you have taught yourself again that hard work and perseverance will gain you everything.
3. I had decided going in that this quilt was going to tell me if I wanted to BE a quilter or a person who had made a quilt.  I didn't put my cutting mat and rotary cutter on Craigslist when I was done so therefore I have decided to BE a quilter.

It has been a long journey. And my journey of my first quilt is not over yet.  I have a completed top, but it isn't quilted yet!

So in the effort to not make it an endless UFO in my room I'm off to ask the experts, at a local quilt shop how to accomplish the quilting part.  I have already come to the conclusion that this is one quilt that will be quilted by checkbook.  I don't have a long arm, or a mid arm or a anything that is going to allow me to feel comfortable quilting this sucker.  It is HEAVY!!!