Starting here....and now I'm finally here-
I'm
so so happy! Its all finished! It rained, or looked like it would
rain any minute, for most of the day on Tuesday, so I was determined that would be the last day I would drag my quilt
around the house. So, I dedicated my day to finishing it. The last
bit was quilted, then it was squared up, the binding was attached, and
pins removed. From there, it moved on to probably the most anticipated
laundry cycle ever in this house. I waited...waited...hoping that all
that marker was indeed as washable as it claimed. I've never heard of
that being a real problem, but you know, mine could be the one, right?
Thank God, no trace of marker. Now its on my bed, in all its quilty,
dimply, blocked goodness. (Remember back when I said, in one of my 40
things, that I really like symmetry? Is this bedroom symmetrical and
right-angled from every corner or what? I'm really, really not that boring.)
I felt a little Carol Ingalls- ish,
sleeping under my new quilt. (But I bet happier than Carol, cause she
still had to weave their summer straw hats.) Now, to come clean here,
the imperfections abound, you just can't see them. Finishing skills
are not where I shine, I don't have a huge amount of patience so close
to the end of such a big project. So, if you are at my house and want
to see it, I won't let you linger over it for too long. I will
need to do a little repair work on the binding. I chose to attach
binding the Modern Quilt Workshop
way, sandwiching it snugly around the edges and sewing through all the
layers in one step, no handsewing. Doing it this way usually requires me to go back and do a few repairs, but in the end its a huge
timesaver. I went to a local fabric shop with the quilt top, to pick
out a binding fabric a few weeks ago. Not a clue what direction I
would be going in. I ended up binding it with a Denyse Schmidt fabric
called "Freckles"
in the brown colorway with scattered small off-white dots (its not so
visible in the photo). I actually tried not to use this fabric,
thinking it felt too obvious to use a Denyse Schmidt fabric on her
quilt pattern. But, really, nothing else looked right. I'm very happy
with how it looks! (And, by the way, did I mention that I'm very happy with it?)
Funny the way a quilt can look great while you're working on it, but
then, wow! Add that binding and you suddenly love it in a different
way (maybe just a finished way?)
Of course, putting this on the bed started a whole chain of room cleaning (including my side of the bed),
vaccuuming, nicnak rearranging, and much ceremony (yes, phone calls were made about this...gee, maybe I am that boring). Here's the quilt, with the curtains, all ready for
summer.
Speaking of feathering the nest, I got such a thoughtful comment from Daniela on the post I did about crafting, I wanted to share. It made me teary, in such a nice way. Here's an excerpt:
"I had this old lady who took care of me when I was little. I
remember her home and they way she used to fill the time with me over
and above any other childhood memory (other than traveling). She gave
me things to do with my hands. She encouraged me to put my hands in the
dirt of the vegetable garden and pick berries without gloves, she
showed me how to knit and sew and how to turn pikeletts. She gave my
hands and eyes action. She shaped me and I watched her make things that
shaped my wee body.
I remember her so clearly because her
crafting taught me ryhm and reason and beginnings with ends, texture
and affection and heart.
As a mum, I remember her best. I want
to give Rita what Dumbdy (Mable Dudman) gave me; a place to place my
hands to make a place for someone I love to reside in or near."
What nice words. All of you shared such encouraging thoughts with me on that post, I just felt...kindred... I should remember that crafting doesn't just nourish my soul, but my children's souls as well.
Did I mention that I'm hap..oh yeah, I did. OK, I'll shut up.
