I'm caught up on my swaps for quilting at the moment. I am trying to do too much. I tried Subee's group to swap 1 1/2" squares and am expecting those to arrive back today...whooo hoo! I'll use those for leaders and enders Bonnie Hunter style. I do a 3.5 inch "niblet" ninepatch swap almost every month also on yahoo, and I also enjoy the postcard (4.5" by 6.5") themed swaps Christine does on about.com. I've also been swapping vintage sheet fat quarters and am waiting on 80 (!!!) of those to be swapped and sent back soon. It is like Christmas when some of these come. Sometimes though, I realize I need to be QUILTING with these instead of preparing to quilt.
My list of ongoing projects is kept in a place nobody can find. Some only need bindings! I have a lot of tops done just awaiting quilting. Several are even marked.
I *HAVE TO* quilt. This is SO delightful. And, when I go into one of my children's room and see them snuggled under one of my creations...oh, the delight! SO worth it! They love the feel of my quilts. It is SO different than anything you can purchase. I have yet to figure out why even. I use whatever I have, recycled fabrics, swapped items, and secondhand all cotton blankets as batting. Sometimes, I use all cotton sheets on the back (I am loving that more and more as I try it), but sometimes I use up leftover blocks and chunks of fabric. It doesn't matter...they all have that homey loving feel. Like my grandma's old scrappy quilts had for me before I wore them totally to shreds. She'd used feedsacks and the batting under my favorite one (revealed as it finally wore totally apart) was two holey stained tablecloths folded in half and sewn together. It was CUDDLY and comfy. I loved it when I could peek in and see what the "magician's secret" was...those tablecloths. But, it was NOT the tablecloths. Some of my quilts have had the same "feel". It is clearly the LOVE sewn in. I've heard of some women putting a strand of their hair into the batting of their quilt so they could tell their loved ones that they put a "bit of themselves" into the quilt. LOL, but I am pretty sure when my children see the silly things I do, like fussy cutting, or sewing a favorite fabrics bits together to make enough usable, they'll know Mom was there. I hope they always feel my love through my quilts...that is why I do it. They don't always see that, but I do. I know it when I'm shopping and I see the color, or a novelty that reminds me of the one I love and all the way through the process to the point I have the last stitch in the label.
I'm GOING to get a little more time in to quilt today...after I wash the hair on the two little ones (4yo and 6yo) playing in the tub while I type. And, after I make sure the chores are going with the teens. There are ALWAYS zillions of things to do, but quilting really is one of the ~best~!
Happy 4th of July weekend. This is always a special weekend for my family. I hope it is for you too.~
Lucy~
Friday, July 2, 2010
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