I received some unfinished quilts a long time back and they've been sitting where I put them ever since they arrived. They haunt me regularly, more so than other projects I have laying around that have yet to be finished. Not sure why, but I have some theories. Regardless of what they are, I happened to find myself in a really random situation at the end of October which started me down the road to maybe finishing one of the quilts.
Our patio wall has two door-length windows plus the patio door. These doors are made out of steel and the window molding around the panes are too narrow to mount anything inside. We've tried a couple different things and none have worked. The solution that lasted the longest was more of a last-ditch effort than something we really liked and even that had started to look pretty pathetic. So, one afternoon during a really boring meeting, I stumbled on a blog that someone runs that has all kinds of crafty things on it. One of those things was a quick "how to make curtains" tutorial. The tutorial itself didn't catch my eye so much as the fabric. It was so vibrant and contemporary. Next thing I know, I'm looking up the designer's website which led me to looking for fabric stores that carry that line. I quickly found one in Louisville and decided I'd go check it out that weekend. By the way, it was a quilting store.
I went to the store and found the fabric line I was interested in. It was pretty, but I couldn't imagine making curtains out of anything they had there. I was just looking anyway, so it wasn't that big of a deal. Problem was, I started looking around at other fabrics. Next thing I know, I was thinking "You know, you have some unfinished quilts at home..." and I wandered over to where the books were. I saw lots of pattern books, but nothing that really jumped out at me as a "teach yourself to quilt" kind of book. I did see a couple small pieces of fabric I wanted to purchase for a craft I had in mind, so I picked those up and went to the counter. I asked the clerk if the store carried a book that she'd recommend that could teach me how to quilt. Instead of that, she told me about a beginners class the store had that just so happened to be starting up again in two weeks. I figured I wouldn't be able to go because of when it would be held (most of that stuff is either a Saturday or a night that Joe's working), so imagine my surprise when I saw it was going to be on a Tuesday night - one of the only nights I could do it. Chalk it up to guilt, fate, a good salesman - whatever you want. But next thing I know, I'm signing up for this class and walking out with my "supply list". To say I was in over my head was an understatement, given that I'd never actually sewn anything properly or used a sewing machine.
Over the next five weeks I found myself in this classroom for two and a half hours every Tuesday night, learning how to put together this wall hanging. It was exciting, frustrating, annoying, enlightening, and fun all at once. There were two nights that my brain was so clouded over that I kept making the exact same mistake over and over again to the point that I packed up my work and went home. The first time it happened was the same night I found out I was pregnant. The second time it happened I was just tired after a long day at work and didn't want to think anymore. I had plenty of "homework" to do on my own, which I usually did on Sunday or Monday night after Brianne went to bed. I made plenty of mistakes that you can't see in the picture but if you were looking at it in person you'd probably see much easier, but I don't care. I can honestly say I taught myself how to use a sewing machine and that now I can do some basic quilting! I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and have some other projects in mind. The big trouble is finding time to do it that I don't have to fight Brianne. And since she's more important than quilting, I haven't done anything in several months until this past Saturday when I picked up the wall hanging I'd learned to quilt with and finally finished attaching the binding. Brianne has already claimed it as her own blanket and made sure to tell me how beautiful it was as she placed it on her lap and used it as a blanket the rest of the day.The unfinished quilts in my closet still haunt me, but not as much as they did before. Now I know what I need to do with them, which was half the battle. One of them I know I could finish, the others I'm not sure sure - the fabric is so old and fragile I'm afraid I'd do more damage than good. If I do in fact finish them, it won't be any time soon because I don't want to risk making beginners mistakes on it. But in the meanwhile, at least I have the option which is more than I used to.
