hand pieced quilt a-long

Begin Again

Finding joy by revisiting an old friend,,,hand quilting. I used to hand quilt quite a lot but as it seems to go my attention wandered into machine piecing, and classes. Now as life is settling down ( is it?) or maybe I'm just feeling more settled, hand quilting has called me back. That is one of the joys of quilting, it's like having multiple old friends that you can always go back a revisit,, taking up that friendship right where you left off. The hand piecing quilt-a-long could not be resisted, especially with a new grandbaby on the way. You can join in on this quilt-a-long at https://www.elmstreetquilts.com or at https://kristinesser.com/hand-pieced-qal/ or follow along on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/coullmills/hand-pieced-quilt-blocks/  

They say time is a thief,, if that's true then perfectionism is its accomplice.  The worry that something we want to do isn't going to be perfect leads to procrastination.  I'm a bit embarrassed to admit just how many UFO's and unquilted tops I have stashed away because I know I don't have the skills to finish them perfectly.  My inner critic has a big mouth!  So in my pursuit of letting go of perfectionism I'm quilting my MQ quilt myself.  No, it's not grand, no beautiful feathers and certainly no ribbon winner.  But you know what?  this quilt is for me,,, by me, start to finish.  I love it, mistakes and all.  Just like me, it is flawed but beautiful.  or Maybe beautiful because it's flawed. 

Simple lines with little stars randomly scattered along the way.  Easy, fun, functional and most of all doable! This my idea of self-care,  what are you doing for your happiness today? 

Finishing UFO's ( unfinished objects) is a new priority for me.  I love to start a new project.  So many possibilities :) Playing with fabric is soothing, finding just the right color combinations can be so much fun. So what happens?  SQUIRREL !! and another project catches my eye so this friend gets left behind.  Now I have an embarrassing number of UFO's hidden (from me) in various places.  I keep finding them as a declutter (a whole other topic and also priority).  This week found the pieces to my blue stars, 

"Autumn Evenings" by Piecing the Past

www.piecingthepastquilts.com,   #PatternsbyJen 

 Why did I abandon these beautiful blocks??  I don't know, but I do know they are getting finished. How about you? do you have a stash of UFO's ?

Yes, I know its January and most people are done with Christmas. I do love the holidays and could have a bit of Christmas year round.  Why not enjoy the pretty colors and sparkles.  The real reason I have this block out is actually more to do with my New Years resolution.  This is going to be the year of finishing.  The number of UFO's hiding around my house is getting embarrassing.    This is a log cabin block, I have several others already finished.  All I needed was one more to make 12 blocks altogether.  So now I can decide if I want to make one larger quilt with 12, 12" blocks or two throws with 6 blocks each.  

This is a Japanese expression loosely translated to mean finding the beauty in the less than perfect because it is less than perfect.   As a quilter, this is a hard concept to embrace.  We get so lost in trying to achieve the perfect quarter inch that our work can lose character and end up with no personality.  I yearly take part in the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt challenge over on the Quiltville blog/facebook group.  the clues are given once a week from Thanksgiving to New Years, give or take a bit.  We have no idea what the quilt will end up looking like, its an act of faith in Bonnie's skill as a designer.  This year we have begun with a small block that is challenging.  I was so focused on perfection I was becoming frustrated.  Sometimes if a quilt is coming out wrong I put it away and forget about it.   But why really, I'm not perfect, I'm certainly not permanent and I'm not finished.  This quilt is a step in my growth.  It represents me in the stage I'm in and that's a beautiful thing.  So I'm leaving my imperfections, my drip of coffee and my tiny ink spot and someday, someone will look at my quilt and say isn't that beautiful.     

To Join in the fun link up with Bonnie's blog,     http://bit.ly/2hUJQHB                                           #onringolakequilt,   #quiltvillemystery                                                                                             

The last days of summer

Summer in Maine is short and this year was no exception. Fall is beautiful as well, but leaves me a bit sad for all of the things I didn't do over the summer.

What do you do, when you have nothing to do?

I woke up this morning at 4 am, ugh!  Not a morning person.  I couldn’t go back to sleep so I started my coffee and thought I’ll watch an episode of a TV show as a little treat.  My thinking was that If I watch my show at 4 am it won't interfere with the list of chores I have to do today.  But fate had other plans for me, the internet is down.  The internet is my TV since we don’t have cable ( nor want cable) I watch a few things on Netflix and Amazon Prime. So no TV and also no Facebook or email to read.  I felt kinda lost, my little treat time has been taken, disappointment is making my other options look not so good.  I could quilt, or read, or embroider, or knit,  or do my yoga practice or or or, but I’m not.  Why is it when we get our mindset, it is to so hard to change it?  The internet being down is actually an opportunity for me to do any of those things, all of which I love to do and often wish I had more time for.  SO don’t look a disappointment as a loss, try to find the opportunity in it.  I’ve got quilt to make for a new grandson