Crazy Like a Fox

Crazy Like a Fox, a photo by Jane-Ace on Flickr.    
It was crazy to think I could make a quilt in just nine days...the lead time I had before the baby shower, but I didn't know enough about quilting to discourage me. Besides, if I pieced  a square a day for nine days, then "all" I would have to do would be to join them somehow, back them with the iron-on batting I had found and back it with fleece. 
Besides, the mom-in-waiting would soon be giving birth in a country not her own. I thought someone so brave might just deserve a little something "extra". My husband was also on board with the plan, and helped choose some bright fabrics in the remnant bin at our local craft store, Yuzawaya.
As for instructions, I had a coffee table book that featured various sewing and knitting  techniques. 
I began by cutting nine 9 inch squares of muslin onto which to sew my random cuts of fabric. Though color seemed primary for this project, I soon began fiddling with the concept of adding applique onto the corner squares. 
Initially I thought of a sun, moon, stars. But then I changed to sun, lightning bolt, rainbow, and...and...what? The rainbow made me think of the dove and the flood narrative. So, suddenly I had a concept for the center block. Someone had sent me a pack of 5 inch squares years prior. From that pack I pulled what would be the pieces of the ark. 
As each square came together, I was increasingly excited. It really seemed that God was guiding my choices of even the most seemingly random cuts for the shapes. When it was finally pieced, I saw the red cloth with the splashes of fireworks-like colors, as symbolic of the Holy Spirit. I ended up making the outer binding of the pieced squares using bias strips cut from that fabric. 

The quilt was completed in time for presentation at the baby shower. Bonus for me was seeing the quilt used for not only her first son, but two others who followed in the years after. And if asked, I could truthfully have said, "I don't really know anything about 'how to quilt'."Crazy, huh?

Freedom in FMQ

Quilting outside the lines, as it were. That's what FMQ, free motion quilting, feels like. No longer relegated to stitching in the ditch, which I never quite did anyway. I've a long way to go before I can count FMQ as being in my skill set, either, but I think it will be my favorite method for quilting, once I can get my stitches regulated. I think I like the white on white of the above better than the white on plaid. It's the same piece, just flipped.

If you want to know more about FMQ, do a web search for Leah Day or Free Motion Quilting Project. She has posted videos, tutorials, and designs. She also has a quilting supply shop, which she operates.

Five Dollars Gets you in the Door

A little over a year ago a friend mentioned that a local church was hosting a quilting class for just $5 registration. Having quilted two quilts with no instruction, I thought it would be good to learn the "right way" to quilt, and $5 was such a reasonable fee. Plus I was hoping to spend some time with this friend anyway. Looked like a win/win/win situation to me. And it has been, but we both laugh whenever we recall our naivete in thinking that $5 was going to be our ticket into the world of quilting. Actually, I've quit keeping track of my expenditures for fabrics, threads, notions and such. I'm otherwise such a thrifty, if not frugal, person. I fear looking at the actual outlay might lay me out, so to speak. 
   Laughable too, was the notion that our schedules would put us in the same room from week to week. There were times that both she and I attended more weakly than weekly, and the weeks we were in class only occasionally overlapped. It has, however, been great to have this new point of contact with her and with the new quilting friends I have made through the class.
    The skill garnering has been fun. Certainly many of the basics were picked up in class, but with so many great tutorials online, quilting magazines and even public television quilting shows, I've also enjoyed doing some experimentation on my own.