This week Tatianna and I took a break from quilting and sewing to get Christmas pulled together. Some times taking on too many projects gets in the way of family traditions. Add to that working full time and you have a very small window in which to get things done. On top of it all I came down with a nasty cold that is lingering in my lungs. Thank goodness for really good grown up kids.
So the cookies were mostly all baked in time. And I did manage to make the little fruitcakes and some divinity. I will probably make the rest of the candy (fudge, toffee, and bark) over the next few days. The kids got the house cleaned and decorated. For the first time in my married life, I had lights hung on the outside of my house. Just a single strand of big multi colored lights along the roof line. It was nice not being the only dark house on the block.
We had a very nice Christmas, made extra special by having 2 little ones at home. I am grateful that my son in-law felt it was important to make the visit. Since he will be starting college next month, it will be a long time before they can afford it. Having a two year old and a two month old in the house has really been a blessing. It sure made our Christmas special. My husband's cousin and his family will be dropping by today for a brief visit as well. It is nice to have family around.
We so far have dodged any major tragedy. Twenty six years ago we lost my young brother in-law on Christmas day. So the possibility of tragedy is very real to our family. We did have a couple of minor tragedies though. My son in-law's parents were in an accident on the way to Georgia but fortunately no one was hurt. Their camper was totaled but the truck was fine. It could have been so much worse. They missed Christmas with family but are safe. Our pot belly pig presented us with 6 piglets on Christmas morning and we lost 2 of them but that is part of nature. So no major tragedy. I am grateful for that blessing.
Since I must return to work tomorrow and will have some very long days, I doubt I will get much done on any quilts. The fact that Christmas is still set up in my studio doesn't help. It's the only room in the house where there is a place for it. But Kim's rock studio is almost completed and he will be moving out of my studio this week. Then Tatianna and I will be rearranging things and trying to figure out the best way to put things together. My husband gave me some storage items for Christmas to help with the organization. I got a lovely locking wooden chest that has drawers, I plan to use for jewelry making supplies. I also got a wall mounting storage bin rack system for other items. I am looking forward to getting my studio set up for our needs.
I expect that Tatianna and I will spend part of New Years day cutting fabric for her next quilt and planning/drawing out other quilts. I hope to finish my Irish Chain quilt top and start another one.The New Year always gives me hope for a more productive year ahead. I like making goals, I need to work on achieving them but that is nothing unique to me. This coming year I plan on finishing a few quilts. Hopefully before starting new ones. I would also like to tackle free motion quilting. Maybe buy a new machine. I definitely plan on buying a long arm. But who know what the New Year will hold.
Right now I am enjoying time with family and friends. Sewing and quilting will wait while they are near. I don't get these moments very often and I want to treasure them while I can. I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas and are looking forward to a Happy and Prosperous New Year
.
Monday, December 26, 2016
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Finally Finished (even if it isn't perfect)
It is funny how things look different once they are all together. I hadn't noticed until it was done that the star blocks made with two different background fabrics read more like 'x's. While the star blocks made from a single background fabric really pop as stars.
This quilt was a frustrating at times as well as being a joy. I love working on projects with other women. Actually I love to sew and craft with other women. I don't really love to work on the same project as much. I believe it is because while I am not a perfectionist, I like things to be done right. NOT PERFECT, just right. I want 1/4 inch seams to be 1/4 of an inch or at least close to a 1/4 of an inch. Not 3/8 to a 1/2 an inch. Maybe I am too much of a control freak. I do like to be in control of my projects.
The other frustration came in the quilting of the quilt. I will be getting a long arm quilting machine within the year. I may not be able to get quite everything I want but I really need a machine to quilt on. It's either a long arm or an expensive sewing/quilting machine with a stitch regulator and a bigger throat space. If I go that route, it will be forever before I get the Long Arm and I can't do what I want on that type of machine. I may as well get the long arm. I can add the computer later. I already have some stencils so I can use those until I can afford the computer.
I love the way I feel when a quilt is so excitedly accepted. The parents were so happy to receive this gift and I am sure it will be treasured. The appreciation made making it all worth while. I think the kids did like that their pictures were on it but after that it was just a dumb ole blanket. But they are all under the age of 12 so it is hard from them to get excited about the quilt. But the Mom and Dad both thanked me personally.
Today at church, other women complimented me on how the quilt turned out. Even though they helped with it, they recognized that Tatianna and I did a lot of the work. Plus they were amazed at the picture blocks. I think that many of these women have only done traditional quilting when they were younger. There are so many modern techniques that make quilting go so much faster now that it is nothing to get a quilt done in a month. Of course the quilting still takes time, especially if you don't have a machine to do it on.
To illustrate my point, two weeks ago Tatianna finished 2 quilt tops in a week. Well maybe she finished them, she is debating adding borders. The only reason she hasn't done 2 more is we are getting ready for the Holidays. Of course the fact that she is not working full time does allow her the time to sew. Truthfully I think she would love to be working but at least she can be productive by quilting. Plus since she uses Mom's stash it doesn't cost her anything.
So while I enjoyed working on this quilt, I will be happy to get back to working on my projects. I have 2 quilts to finish and many more planned. There is just not enough time in my days to do all I want to do. My friend Kerri Lynn likes to remind me that that we know how many hours we have each day and that everyone gets the same number of hours. Sometimes I think I need 36 hour days. Then I remember that I can't pull all nighters anymore. So I know I am grateful for 24 hour days.
But still I want more time to quilt. Oh well, I will just quilt when I can. Do you ever feel like you never have time to do the things you love to do.
Sunday, December 11, 2016
For the Want of a Nail
Some time ago, most likely when my oldest was little, I read a nursery rhyme that went like this:
For the want of a nail, a shoe was lost.
For the want of a shoe, a horse was lost.
For the want of a horse, a man was lost.
For the want of a man, the battle was lost.
For the want of the battle, the war was lost.
So what does this have to do with quilting? The rhyme tells of the importance of paying attention to details. Quilting is all about details. We prepare our fabric (to pre-shrink or not to pre-shrink, is a debate for another day). Then we cut it as precisely as we can. We sew with a scant 1/4 inch seam. We piece with precision and hopefully, if we hold our mouth just right, cross the correct number of fingers and toes, and pray fervently, our blocks come out correctly. Details are very important.
I have learned more about the importance of details since I have been working on the quilt with the women at church. Largely because there are so many of us working on the quilt. Partly because so many of us are not quilters. When it is just me working on a quilt, I know what I have done and generally can figure out why something has gone wrong. There have been many things I have learned and many things I already knew that I am thankful I know.
Details matter! Here are some I have dealt with on this quilt.
Starting with the quarter inch seam. Tatianna and I both have 1/4 inch seam presser feet on our machines. Mine is just the quarter inch width. Hers has a little guide to run the fabric against. I have taken the time to measure the distance from the needle to the edge of the feet. It is barely under a quarter inch. Yea!!! We just use our presser feet to guide us. But many people don't think to check that measurement. I learned to check that when I was at a 4-H leader-mete in Utah. They had us sew 3-1 1/2" strips together and measure the middle strip. If it was not 1", our machine's markings or presser feet were not accurate. Like I said I knew this, but trying to piece together blocks made by different women, hammered that point home. There was one block that I had to literally take apart and resew because the seams were 3/8 of and inch instead of 1/4 of and inch.
Squaring up blocks is not something everyone does, I used to watch the Quilt in a Day Series with Elanor Burns on PBS. I watched her square up pieces so they would fit easier. Now after I cut part of a block and do something like flippy corners I will go back and square up the part. This was very helpful when putting together the star blocks for this quilt. It certainly made the block look nicer. I definitely could tell when someone hadn't done it to their block.
Cutting is an area that I tend to get crazy about. I have lots of different rulers to make the job easier. I have a strip ruler that I love. In fact I have two. One was slightly broken at a sewing camp when it was dropped. I glued it together with super glue and it held temporarily. The woman who dropped it felt that she should replace it and despite my protests, did. I offered her the broken one but she refused. I used it for 8 years occasionally trying to fix the break. This summer I finally got some 5 minute fix and fixed it for good. Tatianna is probably going to get one of them.
One thing that was drilled into me at a young age is to be accurate in cutting. Whether it is for clothing or quilting be accurate. On this quilt a couple of women cut their own blocks. They had not ever cut quilt blocks before and therefore the blocks weren't quite square. Also I don't mind getting some smaller pieces when I rotary cut but I hate to open up a piece of fabric and discover some one has sliced into it. These women cut their squares using a rotary cutter and the strip ruler. But they didn't cut the strips and then cut the strips into blocks. They laid out the fat quarter and cut out the 4 1/2 inch blocks using the strip ruler and rotating it for the cross cut. I now have half of four fat quarters that have slices cut into them in 4 1/2 inch intervals. They are now in the scrap bin.
Measure twice and cut once. This is all on me. I unrolled the batting and assumed that the batting had been folded lengthwise. I proceeded to cut 30 inches off the width making the batting too small for the quilt. I knew better but was on a deadline and didn't take the time to measure. You better believe I measured the next batting twice before cutting.
Audition/practice the design. I did this on a couple of 5 inch squares with batting. I wanted to get the feel of how the pattern would look and how it would feed with the walking foot. I was very glad I had done it.
The right tool for the job. This is about my machine. My machine only has about a 7 inch throat space. I have come to realize that it is not a great machine for quilting even though it is marketed as a quilting machine. My machine does not have a stitch regulator and I have not mastered (or even begun) free motion quilting. So I planned to do a grid pattern for the quilt design. A quilter friend suggested I put my walking foot on and just use the guide to quilt the grid. That way I would only have to draw a couple of starting lines. That most likely would have worked on a wall quilt but not on the slightly larger than twin sized quilt I was working on. I ended up ripping out two lines of quilting. I then laid out the quilt, marked the quilting lines. I took off the walking foot and used my 1/4 inch presser foot because it is easy for me to follow the markings with it. I also ended up quilting a much bigger grid than I had planned. All in All it doesn't look too bad but it is not as I had pictured it.
Marking tools are not all created equal. I have found that some do not hold their points, some will not erase, and some need sharpened every time you mark a line. Always, Always check your marking tool on some scraps of the fabric before using it. I did do this, so no worries on this quilt. Also those disappearing marking pens that you iron out, can and sometimes do come back. And the ones that you wash away... Don't let them get warm before you wash them out with cold water. Heat will set that ink, even just getting warm in the sun. That tip I learned from a quilter who learned it the hard way.
Thread is something I usually don't bother with. I just use Coats Dual Duty. Well, my daughter had bought some machine quilting thread for a sewing project. I substituted the Dual Duty thread for the sewing project. Since I have the machine quilting thread I decided to use it. I didn't see much difference in it and the Coats Dual Duty. Of course it is the Coats brand of machine quilting thread so that may be why. I do know that many quilters like a more expensive brand of thread. I have found many who really feel Superior Thread brands are the best. I have asked a couple of long arm quilters and they say the thread does make a difference. I may just have to invest in some good thread to see how it does. I suspect that when I get a long arm machine I will buy better thread just because of the investment.
Make sure you have enough fabric before you start. Don't be fooled into thinking you can get some more if you need it later. My general rule of thumb is buy an extra 1/2 yard for cutting mistakes. Because I know I will make some. Any left over fabric goes into the scrap bin. Tatianna gets crazy if she thinks I am throwing away fabric that can be used for something. So we have a scrap bin. Any thing that is less than a fat quarter gets dropped in the scrap bin. Sooner or later one of us will do a scrap quilt.
Speaking of Fabric. Fabric is another area that I don't get crazy about. This quilt was made from fabric in my stash so much of it came from Mom's Crafts and Fabric's in Delta, Utah. I had picked up several fat quarters that she had on sale when I lived there. I have used all kinds of fabric and I know there are different grades of cotton fabric. I heard a 4-H judge tell a young teen that she should have made her first quilt out of a better grade of cotton. While I know that all fabric is not created equal, I also know that many of us can't afford to spend $8.00 to $10.00 a yard. I know that I really can't afford it even though I still splurge on it. I definitely don't buy it for my kid's first quilting project. Besides many of us are not lucky enough to have a local quilt shop nearby. Therefore we end up buying from the local box store who because they buy in bulk and can sell it cheaper. Still you need to be careful. Some tips I have learned; look for 100% cotton, make sure the fabric feels substantial and has some body to it. If the fabric is sheer, crackly, or light stay away from it, at least for quilting.
Quilting is about details and beautiful quilts are created when the details are considered. I wish you all beautiful quilts and a future where you never want for a nail.
For the want of a nail, a shoe was lost.
For the want of a shoe, a horse was lost.
For the want of a horse, a man was lost.
For the want of a man, the battle was lost.
For the want of the battle, the war was lost.
So what does this have to do with quilting? The rhyme tells of the importance of paying attention to details. Quilting is all about details. We prepare our fabric (to pre-shrink or not to pre-shrink, is a debate for another day). Then we cut it as precisely as we can. We sew with a scant 1/4 inch seam. We piece with precision and hopefully, if we hold our mouth just right, cross the correct number of fingers and toes, and pray fervently, our blocks come out correctly. Details are very important.
I have learned more about the importance of details since I have been working on the quilt with the women at church. Largely because there are so many of us working on the quilt. Partly because so many of us are not quilters. When it is just me working on a quilt, I know what I have done and generally can figure out why something has gone wrong. There have been many things I have learned and many things I already knew that I am thankful I know.
Details matter! Here are some I have dealt with on this quilt.
Starting with the quarter inch seam. Tatianna and I both have 1/4 inch seam presser feet on our machines. Mine is just the quarter inch width. Hers has a little guide to run the fabric against. I have taken the time to measure the distance from the needle to the edge of the feet. It is barely under a quarter inch. Yea!!! We just use our presser feet to guide us. But many people don't think to check that measurement. I learned to check that when I was at a 4-H leader-mete in Utah. They had us sew 3-1 1/2" strips together and measure the middle strip. If it was not 1", our machine's markings or presser feet were not accurate. Like I said I knew this, but trying to piece together blocks made by different women, hammered that point home. There was one block that I had to literally take apart and resew because the seams were 3/8 of and inch instead of 1/4 of and inch.
Squaring up blocks is not something everyone does, I used to watch the Quilt in a Day Series with Elanor Burns on PBS. I watched her square up pieces so they would fit easier. Now after I cut part of a block and do something like flippy corners I will go back and square up the part. This was very helpful when putting together the star blocks for this quilt. It certainly made the block look nicer. I definitely could tell when someone hadn't done it to their block.
Cutting is an area that I tend to get crazy about. I have lots of different rulers to make the job easier. I have a strip ruler that I love. In fact I have two. One was slightly broken at a sewing camp when it was dropped. I glued it together with super glue and it held temporarily. The woman who dropped it felt that she should replace it and despite my protests, did. I offered her the broken one but she refused. I used it for 8 years occasionally trying to fix the break. This summer I finally got some 5 minute fix and fixed it for good. Tatianna is probably going to get one of them.
One thing that was drilled into me at a young age is to be accurate in cutting. Whether it is for clothing or quilting be accurate. On this quilt a couple of women cut their own blocks. They had not ever cut quilt blocks before and therefore the blocks weren't quite square. Also I don't mind getting some smaller pieces when I rotary cut but I hate to open up a piece of fabric and discover some one has sliced into it. These women cut their squares using a rotary cutter and the strip ruler. But they didn't cut the strips and then cut the strips into blocks. They laid out the fat quarter and cut out the 4 1/2 inch blocks using the strip ruler and rotating it for the cross cut. I now have half of four fat quarters that have slices cut into them in 4 1/2 inch intervals. They are now in the scrap bin.
Measure twice and cut once. This is all on me. I unrolled the batting and assumed that the batting had been folded lengthwise. I proceeded to cut 30 inches off the width making the batting too small for the quilt. I knew better but was on a deadline and didn't take the time to measure. You better believe I measured the next batting twice before cutting.
Audition/practice the design. I did this on a couple of 5 inch squares with batting. I wanted to get the feel of how the pattern would look and how it would feed with the walking foot. I was very glad I had done it.
The right tool for the job. This is about my machine. My machine only has about a 7 inch throat space. I have come to realize that it is not a great machine for quilting even though it is marketed as a quilting machine. My machine does not have a stitch regulator and I have not mastered (or even begun) free motion quilting. So I planned to do a grid pattern for the quilt design. A quilter friend suggested I put my walking foot on and just use the guide to quilt the grid. That way I would only have to draw a couple of starting lines. That most likely would have worked on a wall quilt but not on the slightly larger than twin sized quilt I was working on. I ended up ripping out two lines of quilting. I then laid out the quilt, marked the quilting lines. I took off the walking foot and used my 1/4 inch presser foot because it is easy for me to follow the markings with it. I also ended up quilting a much bigger grid than I had planned. All in All it doesn't look too bad but it is not as I had pictured it.
Marking tools are not all created equal. I have found that some do not hold their points, some will not erase, and some need sharpened every time you mark a line. Always, Always check your marking tool on some scraps of the fabric before using it. I did do this, so no worries on this quilt. Also those disappearing marking pens that you iron out, can and sometimes do come back. And the ones that you wash away... Don't let them get warm before you wash them out with cold water. Heat will set that ink, even just getting warm in the sun. That tip I learned from a quilter who learned it the hard way.
Thread is something I usually don't bother with. I just use Coats Dual Duty. Well, my daughter had bought some machine quilting thread for a sewing project. I substituted the Dual Duty thread for the sewing project. Since I have the machine quilting thread I decided to use it. I didn't see much difference in it and the Coats Dual Duty. Of course it is the Coats brand of machine quilting thread so that may be why. I do know that many quilters like a more expensive brand of thread. I have found many who really feel Superior Thread brands are the best. I have asked a couple of long arm quilters and they say the thread does make a difference. I may just have to invest in some good thread to see how it does. I suspect that when I get a long arm machine I will buy better thread just because of the investment.
Make sure you have enough fabric before you start. Don't be fooled into thinking you can get some more if you need it later. My general rule of thumb is buy an extra 1/2 yard for cutting mistakes. Because I know I will make some. Any left over fabric goes into the scrap bin. Tatianna gets crazy if she thinks I am throwing away fabric that can be used for something. So we have a scrap bin. Any thing that is less than a fat quarter gets dropped in the scrap bin. Sooner or later one of us will do a scrap quilt.
Speaking of Fabric. Fabric is another area that I don't get crazy about. This quilt was made from fabric in my stash so much of it came from Mom's Crafts and Fabric's in Delta, Utah. I had picked up several fat quarters that she had on sale when I lived there. I have used all kinds of fabric and I know there are different grades of cotton fabric. I heard a 4-H judge tell a young teen that she should have made her first quilt out of a better grade of cotton. While I know that all fabric is not created equal, I also know that many of us can't afford to spend $8.00 to $10.00 a yard. I know that I really can't afford it even though I still splurge on it. I definitely don't buy it for my kid's first quilting project. Besides many of us are not lucky enough to have a local quilt shop nearby. Therefore we end up buying from the local box store who because they buy in bulk and can sell it cheaper. Still you need to be careful. Some tips I have learned; look for 100% cotton, make sure the fabric feels substantial and has some body to it. If the fabric is sheer, crackly, or light stay away from it, at least for quilting.
Quilting is about details and beautiful quilts are created when the details are considered. I wish you all beautiful quilts and a future where you never want for a nail.
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Day of Quilting, Women and Teamwork
This week has been a crazy one. I knew I needed to get the blocks done for the quilt the group is working on. But the day after I get the fabric for framing the picture blocks, I was sick. I was in bed sick for 2 days. There was no working on the quilt only sleeping and being sick. I had finally caught the bug that has been going around work for 2 months.
So now we are 3 days into the week and I haven't worked on the blocks at all. I then worked 2 ten hour days, which means I didn't work on the quilt. Well I did start to work on the blocks but after sewing a strip onto a picture block twice with the needle not threaded, I decided I was way too tired to be working on it.
The group was to meet at noon on Saturday to finish the top. I set my alarm for 6:30am. I get up and start working on the blocks. I call my kids to get up, there is a lot of work to do and I was going to be sewing. I cut the needed fabric for the remaining 3 star blocks and proceed to get them pieced. The 17 year old daughter made breakfast. The 24 year old daughter, Tatianna, prints the last picture for the quilt and gets that block ready to be framed. The 21 year old son feeds the pigs and then becomes the gopher.
At 10:30 I am ready to leave the house to go set up. The kids have loaded what we need, so Tatianna and I head out. No one was there to let us in to set up. So we ran to the dollar store to get a flannel backed tablecloth to use as a design wall. They didn't have any. We decided to just use to tables put side by side to do the lay out.
Finally someone with a key shows up. We haul what we need into the building and get things set up. With time to kill, we realize we brought all the picture blocks and the parts needed to finish them but not the star blocks. A quick call to the 21 year old and the star blocks are on their way. In the mean time I start chain piecing the frames around the picture blocks. As I finish a strip, Tatianna takes it, trims it, presses it and puts it back into rotation. Within an hour all 10 blocks are framed and the star blocks arrived. Of course I had to stop and fill a bobbin and forgot the spare thread. We ended up pulling the spool off my daughter's machine and using it all to fill the bobbin which took us down to one machine.
We break for lunch. Soup that warms the body and soul, plus good company. Only 3 others showed up for this session and it was only an suppose to be 2 hours. I didn't think we would get much done. It was the first Saturday in December after all and we have had a lot of illness in the congregation. One woman in the group is very ill and 2 of the women were with her. This is a great group of Women who take very good care of each other.
Unfortunately the ill woman still had her block to finish and had the block pieces somewhere at her home. There was some talk of asking the husband to find it. Tatianna and I decided we could figure out what fabric she used (it came from my stash) and just make the block for her. So we could not get the top completed during that session.
What we did do was decide on the placement of everything. We knew the missing block was green so we planned for it. I stepped back and let the others figure out the placement. Then Tatianna and I started sewing the blocks together. We got everything sewn that we could without the last block. At 2:30pm, we were loading up the car and heading to the store for more thread and some other things.
When we got home, Tatianna found the fabric needed for the last block and I got busy making it. Tatianna then braved the main part of the stash to find the backing fabric. In a matter of an hour and half, we had completed the quilt top and started on the back. Deadline for this quilt is December 15th. It must be completed. We are down to basting quilting and binding.
The whole day of quilting gave me such a great feeling. What made this feeling even better was, I never had to tell Tatianna what to do. There was no plan made, just action taken. She and I make a great team and neither of us are great or even really accomplished quilters.
I like to say I am not a great quilter but I do quilt. I think the only way to become good at something is to do it. Not doing it because you aren't good at it only means you will never become good at it. It is a learning experience.
Another reason it was a great feeling is that I was doing something I loved and for someone else. Working with other women makes these projects much more fun. I know there were reasons for Quilting Bees. I had always heard it was for social reasons and to show support for each other. I think it is sad that we don't do them any more. In society today women don't get the opportunity to gather and work together nearly enough.
When I have my quilt shop I am going to encourage quilting bees. Would you come to one?
So now we are 3 days into the week and I haven't worked on the blocks at all. I then worked 2 ten hour days, which means I didn't work on the quilt. Well I did start to work on the blocks but after sewing a strip onto a picture block twice with the needle not threaded, I decided I was way too tired to be working on it.
The group was to meet at noon on Saturday to finish the top. I set my alarm for 6:30am. I get up and start working on the blocks. I call my kids to get up, there is a lot of work to do and I was going to be sewing. I cut the needed fabric for the remaining 3 star blocks and proceed to get them pieced. The 17 year old daughter made breakfast. The 24 year old daughter, Tatianna, prints the last picture for the quilt and gets that block ready to be framed. The 21 year old son feeds the pigs and then becomes the gopher.
At 10:30 I am ready to leave the house to go set up. The kids have loaded what we need, so Tatianna and I head out. No one was there to let us in to set up. So we ran to the dollar store to get a flannel backed tablecloth to use as a design wall. They didn't have any. We decided to just use to tables put side by side to do the lay out.
Finally someone with a key shows up. We haul what we need into the building and get things set up. With time to kill, we realize we brought all the picture blocks and the parts needed to finish them but not the star blocks. A quick call to the 21 year old and the star blocks are on their way. In the mean time I start chain piecing the frames around the picture blocks. As I finish a strip, Tatianna takes it, trims it, presses it and puts it back into rotation. Within an hour all 10 blocks are framed and the star blocks arrived. Of course I had to stop and fill a bobbin and forgot the spare thread. We ended up pulling the spool off my daughter's machine and using it all to fill the bobbin which took us down to one machine.
We break for lunch. Soup that warms the body and soul, plus good company. Only 3 others showed up for this session and it was only an suppose to be 2 hours. I didn't think we would get much done. It was the first Saturday in December after all and we have had a lot of illness in the congregation. One woman in the group is very ill and 2 of the women were with her. This is a great group of Women who take very good care of each other.
Unfortunately the ill woman still had her block to finish and had the block pieces somewhere at her home. There was some talk of asking the husband to find it. Tatianna and I decided we could figure out what fabric she used (it came from my stash) and just make the block for her. So we could not get the top completed during that session.
What we did do was decide on the placement of everything. We knew the missing block was green so we planned for it. I stepped back and let the others figure out the placement. Then Tatianna and I started sewing the blocks together. We got everything sewn that we could without the last block. At 2:30pm, we were loading up the car and heading to the store for more thread and some other things.
When we got home, Tatianna found the fabric needed for the last block and I got busy making it. Tatianna then braved the main part of the stash to find the backing fabric. In a matter of an hour and half, we had completed the quilt top and started on the back. Deadline for this quilt is December 15th. It must be completed. We are down to basting quilting and binding.
The whole day of quilting gave me such a great feeling. What made this feeling even better was, I never had to tell Tatianna what to do. There was no plan made, just action taken. She and I make a great team and neither of us are great or even really accomplished quilters.
I like to say I am not a great quilter but I do quilt. I think the only way to become good at something is to do it. Not doing it because you aren't good at it only means you will never become good at it. It is a learning experience.
Another reason it was a great feeling is that I was doing something I loved and for someone else. Working with other women makes these projects much more fun. I know there were reasons for Quilting Bees. I had always heard it was for social reasons and to show support for each other. I think it is sad that we don't do them any more. In society today women don't get the opportunity to gather and work together nearly enough.
When I have my quilt shop I am going to encourage quilting bees. Would you come to one?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)