October 20, 2017
Here I am, trying to get motivated again. Maybe motivated isn’t totally the correct
word I’m looking for. Perhaps trying to
still adjust to a different world now that my pup is gone. I’m still trying to cope…still trying to
figure out what life is supposed to be now.
I clearly haven’t figured it out yet.
Meanwhile, I have figured out that I almost always work better when I
have a deadline looming. The local quilt
guild, of which I am a member, is having their annual quilt show this
weekend. I managed to finish a quilt
which I’d made in a class earlier this year and had it sitting on my “to-quilt”
list for months. I finally decided it
was time to get it completed and call it done.
So, with the looming deadline for entering it into the quilt show, I managed
to get it quilted and learned how to put on an art binding – that’s what I call
it, anyway. You know, that kind of
binding that makes it look like there is no binding – the finish you see on art
quilts, quite often. So, here is my
“Boulder Bear”. The quilt wall hanging
got its name during the class which I took – a class at the local quilt store –
learning how to do fusible applique in an art quilt. The pattern is a Laura Heine pattern – but
could be about anything you want it to be.
I even have ideas of my own using the technique. It was really fun and I had a good time doing
something different.
I do think that’s important in our quilting – or at least
mine. I prefer not to keep doing the
same quilt over and over again. I want
to challenge myself to try a different pattern, a different quilt motif, even a
different colorway. I can’t wait to see
the quilts in this year’s quilt show as I’m sure I’ll see something that’ll
spark my thoughts and I’ll just have to try it or figure out how to incorporate
it into a quilt of my own. The Boulder Bear used heavily saturated
fabrics – many Kaffe Fassett fabrics – which I normally wouldn’t really use,
and they just were so happy that they just blended themselves together.
Also recently completed is my quilt that started out as one
pattern and ended up being another. I so
enjoy this quilt and am happy it isn’t relegated to the “forever a UFO” pile.
I
find great pleasure in finding a solution to my quilting fiascos – well
intended ideas that just kind of go south.
If we think about things in different ways, and realize all is not lost
because we’ve let a pattern, fabric, or design fall out of our favor, our minds
open up and find solutions to what we thought were unsolvable problems. That’s what this quilt is for me – the
“Yellow Brick Road became Falling Stars”.
Find courage in your quilting and you’ll discover something
extraordinary that you’re capable of.
One last item I decided to donate to the quilt guild for its "Small Quilt Auction" - this is a quilt I made to learn how to piece curves with Ruth B. McDowell's piecing method. I thought this would be a good time to donate so someone could enjoy it.
A few finishes (finally)...
Linking up with friends all over at Busy Hands Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.
