Blunt about sewing

Christine hard at play

Let's face it.  As hard as my mother tried to turn me into a sewing/knitting/quilting adept (like herself), I am no more than a beginner at any of those arts.  I am, however, a periodic crafting enthusiast, and I owe it to the highly talented and persistent Christine Quickert Walsh for giving me enough skills and knowledge to tackle a project from time to time.  Thanks, Mom, and I'm certain that someday I'll be sorry I didn't transport all of your fabric, yarn, books, and equipment to my house when we were moving you out of yours.

Me appearing not-tense on the beach in Mexico

Sewing and knitting make me tense.  I love playing with all the pretty colors, designs, soft textures, and eye-catching patterns, but when it comes to physically DOING it, my fingers cramp, my eyes cross, and my shoulders  stiffen.  These crafts are also time-consuming, indoor activities which are really only appealing when the weather's truly snotty.  Therefore, the crafting months tend to be November (before ski season) and maybe March & April (before gardening season).

Laying out the blocks

So here we are. It's November, and guess who pulled her boxed-up log cabin quilt out of the garage today? Me. I actually still like it, which is a good thing considering how often I have started and stopped working on it over the years. I now have renewed enthusiasm for the quilt because Frank and I will soon be inhabiting our newly-built "surf pad" in Encinitas, CA, and obviously we'll be needing a bed covering. Frank's so sweet (and knows me so well); when I manically announced that I'm hoping to have the quilt finished in time to bring with us in December, he said, "That's great! And it doesn't have to be finished in time for our next trip. We can bring it down with us any time." That's one of many reasons why I love the man. Mr. No-pressure.

A block in progress

The log cabin quilt is going to be a beautiful thing when it's done. I love the fact that every block is different and I really get to play with the colors in it. I sew it a strip at a time, so there's no cutting of pieces, or pinning, or ironing - and I'm even quilting as I go! Don't ask me how I'm going to assemble it yet; I'll work that out once I get all the blocks sewn.