Saturday, September 8, 2012

Saturday Snapshot - Straight Lines




My life these days is reduced to a series of straight seams and endless checking with rulers and cutting board grids. This is a simple 'flying geese' pattern with three borders that will make it suitable for a double bed. I love the vintage 30's feed sack calicos. They're so cheerful and bright - I'm a sucker for all that nostalgic vintage stuff. At this point, my 'wintertime project' is one border shy of being ready to layer and put on a quilt frame.

From then on, my spare time will be portioned out with a quilt needle, a spool of quilting thread and solitary thoughts. I say that because quilting in a meditative activity when done alone. I've always wanted to have a 'quilting group', but this approach to craftwork is hard to organize in this too busy world.  I once tried to get a group of family members together to work consistently on a quilt that I was making for my niece. It was too difficult for them to commit to the ongoing work of quilting a large piece. It languished for years - finally turning into an embarrassment. I worked on much of it with Gwen (my niece), but foolishly dug my heels in on finishing it all by myself when it had been meant to be a community effort. I finally caved to the pressure from my sister-in-law and handed over the incomplete quilt so that she could find someone to finish the quilt. I'll always be sad that the family couldn't make arrangements to come together and finish that quilt for Gwen and Dan. Oh well.

Since that first quilting debacle, I have always worked on smaller projects that I knew I could manage alone without having to 'guilt' somebody into helping with. This past Spring, I joined a quilt guild. This group has women who are passionate about their craft. I am a definite beginner compared to the skill set that  some of these women bring to the group. I have made friends with one woman who is devoted to handquilting. I helped her with the last bit of quilting that she had to do to finish a quilt she was making this summer. She has said she will help me get my quilt done in return. Then, I will do the same for her when she gets her next project on the quilt frame. I am hoping to get a few other women who are interested in handquilting to join us over time. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have five or six women in a group to help get these massive projects done and on the beds and walls where we envision them ?

Little steps ... like little stitches.

This is a my photoshare that is linked with Alyce's weekly blogpost called Saturday Snap Shot. Check it out at the link above ... and perhaps you'll want to post your own snapshot with the group.

Til next Saturday!
 

14 comments:

  1. What a lovely quilt! I'm a sucker for vintage stuff as well ;)

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  2. That is so pretty! I've only ever made one quilt from scratch and it was a very basic pattern with extra material I had left over from making a special pillow case for my son (John Deere tractors), and a very small quilt. I definitely discovered that correct measurements were important. I don't think I'd ever have the patience for hand quilting, but I do love the beauty of quilts. :)

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  3. Every time I go to Lancaster, PA where the Amish live I always visit the quilt shops. I would love to own one someday as they are works of art. Good luck with yours!

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  4. Beautiful!! Lots of work and patience needed!

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  5. I wish I had the patience to quilt. The results are so gorgeous!

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  6. I'm very impressed. I used to do needlework, but I ahven't for a long time. Here's Mine

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  7. That is lovely. I like patchwork quilting, but I'm not patient enough (or neat enough, although I can sit with a piece of embroidery for hours. My Snapshot is at http://goo.gl/g4s6H

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  8. What a lovely quilt. I wouldn't have guessed that the pattern would be called "flying geese" but now that you've told us, it makes perfect sense.

    Here's my Saturday Snapshot.

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  9. "...a spool of quilting thread and solitary thoughts. I say that because quilting in a meditative activity when done alone. I've always wanted to have a 'quilting group', …"
    I think you capture the secret of quilting.

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  10. Your quilt is so beautiful!! I made a few small ones years ago and have the pieces to make a large quilt for my bed but that may never happen. Don't feel bad about the quilt for your niece. It didn't happen the way you intended but I'm sure it was still a wonderful gift that they cherish!

    What a great idea to join a guild. Then you have a common interest and can help each other. I belonged to a "craft" group and we met weekly, rotating at each of houses, for 15 years. It was a lifesaver because it was when we were all getting married and starting families. It was really 3 hours of socializing. Some of us would bring crafts to work on, or papers to grade (we had several teachers), or nothing at all. There were no rules except getting out of our houses for an evening!

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  11. Beautiful quilt! I would love to make one, but I don't really have the room for it at the moment...

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  12. Very nice! I took a quilting class years ago and all I was able to finish was one little pillow.

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