One quilt.
How pathetic.
Granted, I did a lot this year. Third trimester swelling made it impossible to sew or quilt which meant all of the quilts I had intended to finish pre-infant were still in pieces in Ziplock bags. I had my second son and recovered from another birth. Robinson and I planted a garden and enjoyed another beautiful Alaskan summer. Arthur was enrolled in gymnastics and Balin finally got onto a decent sleep schedule. Our one and only car died (ironically on the way home from the quilters) and it took us some time to purchase a new car and track down an engine for our old vehicle. I actually did finish three quilts, but only got one quilted.
So, really, I suppose one completed quilt is really quite good considering the year's excitement.
Quilt #1: Strip Bow Quilt
This quilt was made for my cousin Brian and his partner Byron. I hadn't intended to make them a quilt (at least not so soon), but while we were at my grandmother's funeral, we started talking about the quilts I had made. They said that they loved them and I promised I would make them one. Someday. (I have a lot of "someday" quilts floating around my house.) I found the pattern in a quilt book my grandmother had. I recovered most of the fabric from various tubs and boxes. The quilt itself was very, very easy and it would not be difficult to make another one like it, especially for a doll. I learned that I will never, ever buy large widths of fabric at Jo-Ann's. The fabric is way too thin and, according to the quilter, will pill. Besides, with the amount it cost to buy that cheap fabric, I could have bought some nicer fabric and pieced it. With the right coordinating thread, no one would ever know.
Even though I didn't complete many quilts, I did manage to do some fun quilt-related stuff this year. I saw a longarm quilting machine in action. That was an amazingly fun experience. I'm not sure if I'll ever get to own one (they take up so much space) or if I'll ever be a serious enough quilter to ever need one. Quilting is something I like to have fun with. If I ever started hoarding fabric without using it until one day I was buried beneath and had to tunnel my way out of it to survive...then maybe I would need one. Right now, quilting is a way of relieving stress. I acknowledge I have a collection of projects, but I am trying my hardest to finish the ones I have before I take on any more. That's so hard for me because I love starting new projects. It's much easier for me to get excited about beginning a quilt than it is to see a project to the end. My passion begins to fizzle about half-way.
I really should consider doing more baby quilts because they are small and generally very easy. Plus, now that I have a free motion foot, I can quilt my own smaller quilts!
Which reminds me, I bought a free motion foot for a whopping $1 this year! I can now quilt my own (small) quilts or wall hangings. It is so hard to stipple something and make it look good. My first project was an iPad holder for Arthur's friend Jade. I've quilted a doll blanket for Arthur's doll and our family tree skirt. All three of these projects seemed to take forever and were murder on my back. It was slow going, but the results were quite lovely. My goal for this next year is to get really good at stippling. I guess that means I'll need to practice.
What, more quilting? Oh, darn!
Blessed be.
How pathetic.
Granted, I did a lot this year. Third trimester swelling made it impossible to sew or quilt which meant all of the quilts I had intended to finish pre-infant were still in pieces in Ziplock bags. I had my second son and recovered from another birth. Robinson and I planted a garden and enjoyed another beautiful Alaskan summer. Arthur was enrolled in gymnastics and Balin finally got onto a decent sleep schedule. Our one and only car died (ironically on the way home from the quilters) and it took us some time to purchase a new car and track down an engine for our old vehicle. I actually did finish three quilts, but only got one quilted.
So, really, I suppose one completed quilt is really quite good considering the year's excitement.
Quilt #1: Strip Bow QuiltThis quilt was made for my cousin Brian and his partner Byron. I hadn't intended to make them a quilt (at least not so soon), but while we were at my grandmother's funeral, we started talking about the quilts I had made. They said that they loved them and I promised I would make them one. Someday. (I have a lot of "someday" quilts floating around my house.) I found the pattern in a quilt book my grandmother had. I recovered most of the fabric from various tubs and boxes. The quilt itself was very, very easy and it would not be difficult to make another one like it, especially for a doll. I learned that I will never, ever buy large widths of fabric at Jo-Ann's. The fabric is way too thin and, according to the quilter, will pill. Besides, with the amount it cost to buy that cheap fabric, I could have bought some nicer fabric and pieced it. With the right coordinating thread, no one would ever know.
Even though I didn't complete many quilts, I did manage to do some fun quilt-related stuff this year. I saw a longarm quilting machine in action. That was an amazingly fun experience. I'm not sure if I'll ever get to own one (they take up so much space) or if I'll ever be a serious enough quilter to ever need one. Quilting is something I like to have fun with. If I ever started hoarding fabric without using it until one day I was buried beneath and had to tunnel my way out of it to survive...then maybe I would need one. Right now, quilting is a way of relieving stress. I acknowledge I have a collection of projects, but I am trying my hardest to finish the ones I have before I take on any more. That's so hard for me because I love starting new projects. It's much easier for me to get excited about beginning a quilt than it is to see a project to the end. My passion begins to fizzle about half-way.
I really should consider doing more baby quilts because they are small and generally very easy. Plus, now that I have a free motion foot, I can quilt my own smaller quilts!
Which reminds me, I bought a free motion foot for a whopping $1 this year! I can now quilt my own (small) quilts or wall hangings. It is so hard to stipple something and make it look good. My first project was an iPad holder for Arthur's friend Jade. I've quilted a doll blanket for Arthur's doll and our family tree skirt. All three of these projects seemed to take forever and were murder on my back. It was slow going, but the results were quite lovely. My goal for this next year is to get really good at stippling. I guess that means I'll need to practice.
What, more quilting? Oh, darn!
Blessed be.
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