I tried to find a slightly clever title for this blog post but sheer pride and overwhelming excitement made it impossible: I finished my first quilt!
I’ve wanted to create a quilt for over 10 years and I finally started a project in December 2009 based on a book the Mr. gave me for Christmas. That project quickly got overwhelming and I realized that although my nana gave me sewing skills (thanks again for that!), I was in over my head. I signed up for a quilting class in June 2010 and started another, easier project. Although the class was one of the worst classes I’ve ever taken, it did get me going with some quilting basics. Now, almost a full year later, I’m looking back on a journey of many frustrations (like when I realized I’d already spent many hours on the project and wasn’t near being done) and even more exciting successes (like when my project actually started looking like a quilt).
The Mr. was a big part of this project with his encouragement, his patience when I lost my patience, his help with extra hands at difficult times, and his skills as a photographer. Thanks, honey! I’ll try to be less of a pain when I go back to my initial project.
The last stitch:
There are some funny things about quilting that I couldn’t have imagined before I really embarked on this project. For one, quilting is frustrating, annoying, expensive, complicated, and ARGH! But it is also meditative, calming, and rewarding. I believe that it can be addictive too; we’ll find out with the next project. Quilting takes a lot out of you, but somehow it gives a lot back too. I’m not sure how that works but it does.
Secondly, the littlest mistake made at any part in the project will influence the entire project. Yet, unlike when putting together a skirt, it won’t be obvious how big of an influence that mistake will have until much further into the project. My quilt has all sorts of issues but it is still beautiful, still warm, still special. To me it is particularly beautiful and special because of its imperfections and quirks. No one else could have made this quilt (but if someone else tries, I really hope you take out less stitching than I did!) and it won’t mean as much to anyone else.
It’s sort of like life in that way. All those joys, mistakes, chances taken and chances missed, all those everythings are written on our hearts, our bodies, our faces, and our souls, making us who we are. We can either focus on the ‘bad’ stuff, examining every crooked or uneven stitch, every missed turn, and every incorrect folding, or we can step back and look at the wonder that we created. I hope you are in awe of your own wonder.
The final quilt, folded in half:
xo
