In our work at the fabric sale, a fundraiser for the girls' 4-H club, it is always sad to see the donations of unfinished projects. People just get tired of them, I guess, and give them to us to sell. Or else family members are going through the belongings of a departed loved one and come across sewing projects left undone. We get those too. My own mother donated her projects to me years ago. She just didn't want to sew anymore. We were generously given beautiful coordinating fabric, some even already cut or pieced. We saved them for the day we would finish them or create something new. Two years ago I used her flannel pieces to make a warm and cozy quilt for my husband for Christmas. Liana and I would stay up late at night tying it with yarn. Good memories!
In my mother's collection were some cute chicken and egg designs. I already had a quilt book with a pattern called "Fenced In Chickens" and I thought the fabric would be great for that. Last winter I started the piecing. You may wonder why half is green and half brown. Well, my original plan was for a big bed quilt and I started with the brown. I didn't like it (and ran out of fabric), so I went with green. But then I got discouraged with the whole project because I didn't like how it was turning out. That happens a lot! But I don't want to be one of those old ladies with unfinished projects my daughters have to sort through. So I decided to make a lap quilt for the sofa to cover us on cold winter nights. I made it just big enough and there it is--done!
Not quite done. Putting together the quilt sandwich is a job. I don't have a table big enough to lay it out, so it has to be done on the floor. A clean floor, of course! So after mopping and drying my kitchen floor, I taped the backing down, taut and smooth. Then came the batting and then the quilt top. It's a long process. It is then pinned together with safety pins, ready for the quilting.
Sometimes it's nice to have an imperfect project that you feel free to use in your own home. I think we'll enjoy it on movie nights!
No comments:
Post a Comment