Learning Curves

It's been a little over a year since I jumped into the world of quilting and I really am enjoying this new hobby of mine. What first drew me in was the online modern quilting movement (and beautiful fabric) but it has been the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild that has encouraged me to grow as a quilter. This group is beyond talented, inclusive, down to earth, sincere and fun.

At last month's meeting I was super excited to show off Owen's finished quilt! This was started in the Fall & was intended to be a playmat. I was disappointed I finished after the "we've gone mobile" milestone but Owen doesn't seem to mind. He is a nut about this quilt. If he sees it out he dashes to it like a maniac & throws himself on it. Turns out its perfect for peek-a-boo & general rumpus! In fact, Owen was with me when I took this to the guild meeting & everyone thought it was hilarious how he went after his quilt during show and tell.

The quilt was built on the disappearing nine patch block that I learned from a class at Bernina, taught by my friend Michelle. I felt a real sense of accomplishment in finishing this but to be honest was disappointed when I pulled it out of the dryer to find that it didn't lay flat.

Mitch assured me that it wouldn't make a difference in the end & I've come to agree that he's right. Not really a surprise as I've learned in almost nine years of marriage my husband is usually right :)

While I certainly want to improve my technical skills it's important to remember we all start somewhere. It will only be with practice and through my mistakes that I will improve. When I sit with that perspective I am able to see how far I've come from Owen's first quilt and I'm pretty happy.

In the craft room I have a Halloween quilt that is waiting for binding & hope to share that with you soon. Of course, now that I've learned to make sure my quilt is "square" before binding I'll be doing a remeasure before I attempt machine binding for the first time!

I've also learned that more than one quilt in progress overwhelms me so I'm going to be a one woman quilt from now on. At the top of my list is piecing Mitch's quilt top; I'm excited to pull it back out. And until then, I'll keep my eyes open for fabric that I have to add to my stash.

About a month ago I had the best fun hunting these Denyse Schmidt fabrics in town with my girlfriends. You would have thought it was some sort of elusive drug we needed a fix of from our emails.

The alarm has just gone off for me to wake up so it's time to get ready for a day of meetings. I've actually been up for awhile since I don't sleep well without my husband which means I was pretty much awake around 2:30 when I received this text from Mitch "The little guy climbed out of his crib". Seriously? He becomes an escape artist when I'm not at home!

My first question of course was if he was hurt. Nope, just sitting at his door waiting for someone to come get him. Oh, Mr. Mischief.


Have a wonderful Wednesday!

lovemon