Isaiah's Quilt 2011
I am a tactile person. I can not walk through a store without touching the merchandise. I feel bad because I used to tell my children, “Don’t touch that.” Well, really! Their hands might be sticky, or they might accidentally pull the item off the rack or shelf and damage it. Me, well I have to show great restraint to not touch. But, I can not help myself when I walk through a store that has fabric. It doesn’t matter whether it is a fabric store or a store with the fabric already sewn into clothing or furnishings. I have to touch it.
I love fabric – all types and all colors. I have sewn on nearly all types of fabrics from thin batiste to thicker corduroy, denim, fleece, and even leather. Once I started quilting, however, most of my fabric choices became cotton. Isn’t is wonderful that we have such a vast array of colors and designs to choose from? No one should say they can’t find the right color. True, your local shop might not have just the right color, value or tone, but another shop could.
Recently I HAD to visit three quilt shops to find just the right combination of aqua, lime green, the correct shades of blue, and yellow to make a delightful airplane applique quilt for my youngest grandson. He is only one, but his Mom wanted airplanes and those shades of color. After finding just the right combination of colors and patterns, I had a ball making the quilt. I used the ultra light weight product called Misty Fuse for the applique. It worked great. Then I had lots of fun planning and quilting the designs on the top. Just to be extra safe, I used Dream Angel batting from Quilters Dream. It is naturally fire retardant with no chemicals added. It is an amazing product and quilts beautifully.
Quilting involves many things. Choice of fabric, color, texture and design. Decisions on pattern selection, pieced, applique, or whole cloth. Hands on with cutting, construction and finally the quilting. I enjoy it all. I love the diversity of tasks. I love the creativity involved. I love the sense of accomplishment when completing a challenging project or stretching my quilting skills. And, I have pleasure when someone else is blessed by my quilted gift. I love quilting!
So, tell me what you love about quilting.
I love so many things about quilting. There are so many paths that can be taken in the world of quilting that it stays interesting, and rewarding. I enjoy all the aspects of quilting, from choosing a pattern, to sewing the label on the finished quilted project.
I love the fact that this hobby can be shared with so many different people. I personally do hands on from choosing the pattern, to sewing the label on the finished quilted project so I have the honor of meeting so many different people and just as many different personalities. I also teach others to longarm quilt, and love that too. People are all so interesting and I really find it fun to help them hone their talents.
I love to see the light bulb go on. I feel that everytime I spend time with a person, I learn something from them also. I find that all aspects of quilting gives me great satisfaction and so many rewards.