Last weekend as I hunkered down from Car Week, I pulled out a quilt that I started back in December of 2016. I was shocked that it had been so long, but there it was on my blog. This is Moda Frivols 8, with American Jane Bread N' Butter fabrics. I love Moda, and I love the fabric in this kit. The muslin is about 25 years old and I remember buying it in Lancaster, California, when it was mostly desert there. The muslin was used in a quilt that I made for myself many years ago.
I am making this quilt for Liesl. She knows that it is hers, too, as you can tell by the possessive paw in the photo. Liesl has always left my sewing and cross stitch projects alone. However, she knows this one is different. I have had to lay the project squares out multiple times and every time she runs over and stands on the squares. Liesl loves her comfort and needs a quilt to snuggle into. She has other blankets I have made for her but I think this will work better for her, because her blankets are a bit heavy. It does get cold here and when it does, she likes to be tucked in. She is a tiny bit spoiled.
This quilt has really challenged my need for perfection. It is riddled with errors. It started because the pattern calls for a scant 1/4 seam allowance, which I can not seem to master. Then I started to do a 1/4 seam allowance and it got all wonky. Then I made a few more errors. I was really being hard on myself and then I told myself that I am not showing this in a competition, and that the recipient will love it no matter what. I am having to modify along the way, kind of like life.
We went to the Monterey County Fair today for a couple of hours. (We had to go eat some deep friend artichoke hearts, yum!!!) The quilts were amazing, and it was evident that we have a very active quilt guild. Then I was a bit impressed because we were walking through the exhibits and Bill said, "Look, here is a quilt with the same star pattern that you are working on." I did not even recognize it because the colors and style were so different from Liesl's quilt. I was impressed because, while he respects the work that goes into sewing and needlework projects, usually he does not pay much attention to what I am working on. (So I thought...)
We walked over to the cross stitch area and I was disappointed to see that there were less than 20 entries on one small wall. There used to be a much larger section and the competition was much more fierce. I have not been able to enter for 2 or 3 years, but I am thinking I shall have to pull together some entries next year. This year I noticed that stitchers I really respect did not have any entries. I wonder what will happen to this craft going forward. I really hope that people really rediscover it.
Have a happy week!
