The closer I get to home, the faster I drive! Which is how I piece, bind, and quilt. Go figure! I'm just anxious to get home...
Anyone who knows me knows I am NOT a traveler. If you look up "homebody" or "hermit" in the dictionary, you'll find my picture. I don't like to stop and look at stuff. I don't stop at Buc-ees. I only take potty stops in sheer desperation. (I've actually thought about getting some of those astronaut diapers so I wouldn't have to stop at all!) Okay, you get the picture. This explains why I'm always so anxious to complete a trip and get back home.
And so it often is with my quilting. I've noticed when quilting on my Sweet Sixteen that I start out with a 2-3 inch spiral but toward the end might have a spiral that takes up 1/4 of the quilt! Ha! Today I was sewing binding on a friend's quilt and I had to keep moving the needle back. "Nope, stitch is too long." Pull the thread, move the needle..."nope, stitch is too long." And when I spotted those last five wonder clips holding that opening down...whewwwwwwww..."nope, nope, nope, stitch is too long, stitch is too long, stitch is too long!" It became my mantra to hold myself in check. I could see my driveway. I was almost home. I couldn't WAIT to get there!
There are parts of a trip that I enjoy, like visiting with whomever I went to visit. Seeing the beautiful countryside. Pleasant unexpected surprises. And so it is with quilting. I love the fabric. I'm okay with the cutting (although I usually procrastinate doing it for fear of messing up). I enjoy the piecing. I enjoy the pressing. Then I start seeing a tiny light at the end of the long tunnel and I start getting anxious to see the completed quilt. I can't wait to get the pieces sewn together! I can't wait to get it quilted! I can't wait, I can't WAIT!
My friend Beckey Prior's projects are just the opposite of mine. I prefer projects like a Missouri Star Quilt Company pattern that can be completed in a short amount of time with basic piecing and quilting. She prefers projects that may take her a year to complete, personally designed, with applique out the wazoo. She also likes to travel. Coincidence? LOL!!!
When I slow down I'm reminded how gratifying each step can be. One of my favorite things to do is sew on binding while watching my Fightin' Texas Aggies play football. It can be so soothing when I stop looking to see how much real estate there is between my needle and the last wonderclip. *sigh* (There are exceptions to this if the game is particularly stressful. I usually don't bind anything but my own intestines when A&M plays Alabama or LSU. Ugh.) I digress. Working on a quilt is my meditation. My creative outlet. My gift to someone. My purpose. My fun.
As I discussed my project preferences with the friend mentioned above, we concluded that this is one of the things that makes quilting great. There's no right or wrong way to approach it, no judgement on which type of quilting you prefer, and the only quilt police involved are the ones in our own heads. All kinds of quilters are at Sew Day, with the key word being "quilters." Whichever way we go about it, we're quilters. Beckey might be drawing her next pattern or appliqueing some of those bazillion pieces onto her quilt, I might be sewing half-square-triangles together as quickly as I can. I'll work on one project, Cynthia will spend time on 3-4 different ones from her bag of WIPS. Mendy will zone out in the corner and finish at least one quilt top while someone else might spend three sew days on one top. I'll have fabric that attracted me with its pretty colors or cool design but that's all I'll know about it, while Janis will know the designer of her preferred fabrics or pattern! I'll be quietly focused on sewing since I can't walk and chew gum at the same time, while Rhonda will be carrying on three conversations while she sews! Just. Doesn't. Matter. What does matter is that we're doing it together! Sewing in a group of like-minded friends is incredible. It inspires me. It invigorates me to work on my projects to completion. It ROCKS.
Come sew with us. Come make friends. And enjoy the journey...
-Angie Clemons
Choose Kind, Be Kind
No comments:
Post a Comment