I can’t wait

I really can’t wait. So impatient! I’ve come full circle and have taken up quilting again.

Well I shouldn’t say again. I barely started the last time, (and the time before that lol).

I remember the first time I was introduced to a quilt, as we didn’t have “quilts” growing up, just blankets. It was at my first job at Cloth World. One of the other teenage employees was showing off her quilt top that she had pieced, and while I thought it was very interesting, just brushed it off as ‘oh, I could never do that.’ Surprising that I had that attitude actually, as at the time I could make just about any dress that you could think of. Just two short years later I semi-designed and made my own wedding dress. *shrug*

A few years later, at my second job, (another fabric store – who would’ve guessed!), Fabricland, they had classes for the Quilt in a Day series by Eleanor Burns. Honestly I didn’t think much of quilting still at that time, as everything was still rather “old-ladyish” in my teenage mind. The colors and patterns were much more old-fashioned looking, in all the wrong ways, in the late 80’s and early 90’s. But I picked out some manly looking colors that I thought my step-dad would like, and I pieced together the Trip Around the World quilt. I even had the backing and batting pinned on for several years, but I can’t remember ever finishing it. In those days it was popular to use really thick, 2 or 3″ batting, and “tie” the quilts instead of actually quilting them. I’m not sure what happened to that quilt… I know I lost interest after my daddy passed away…

Fast forward another few years and our local quilt shop, (which by this time I had a “real” job and no longer worked at fabric stores – boo!), was hosting a Block of the Month program. This one was quite unique in that it was free! You just had to show up on the first or second Saturday of the month and you would receive your little baggie filled with fabric scraps and instructions on how to make your block. They had a presentation each month and would show the finished projects and what else you could make with them. I only remember going to a few, but I have about a dozen blocks total that I made. Not all for the same quilt mind you, so they don’t really go together. These lonely pieced blocks have been sitting in my stash for more than 20 years now I imagine.

So now, all these years later, I decided to try my hand at quilting again. I’ve been sewing off and on during all this time, but that will be for another post. It started when I saw the Songbook fabric line at my local quilt shop, and I knew I had to make a quilt for my mom. I wasn’t sure what pattern to use or how much I needed, so I just bought up several pieces of what they had in stock. Once I came home and started researching it more, I realized there were more pieces available in the line that they did not have at the store and ordered more online from various sources. Etsy has many “shops” that sell quilt-shop quality fabric these days *wink*wink* While I had bought the fabric in early January, I knew it was a stretch to think I would have a quilt completed for her 70th birthday, which was in mid-February. Of course it didn’t happen. Last year ended up being a very difficult year in many ways, and I didn’t touch the quilt for the remainder of the year.

2023. A new year with new goals. I am determined to be more disciplined in many areas of life, including finishing and actually working on the projects that will bring me joy. I have finished the quilt top with the exception of the border, mainly because I can’t decide on what to do, and am just waiting on the backing fabric that I ordered to come in. It is literally days away from being sent to a quilter for long-arm quilting, (which is a whole other thing that I am brand new to… eeek!). I have watched a few youtube videos on binding and feel confident that I can get that done quickly once the quilt returns. At this rate I might actually have this quilt ready to give my mom for Mother’s Day 2023! Pictures will follow of course because the fabric is so pretty.

But here are a few pictures in progress. Forgive my mistakes! While I would consider myself a pretty advanced seamstress, definitely still new to quilting, as that is a different skill set! I lost quite a few points on these stars (first time!), and realize I need to try starching next time to get more accurate piecing. (Also ignore my messy sewing room, the messy bits that you can see that is!) *blush*

Oh, but geez, I never got to the point for this whole post! I am impatiently waiting on fabric to arrive! I guess I’ll do another post about that!