Back in December of 2011, my mother introduced me to quilting. While many women (and some men), start by piecing together squares or strips and then progress to more difficult things, my mother knows me better. She decided that I would love to learn English paper piecing. She had been doing diamonds when she came to visit earlier in the year. I thought that looked like a good idea. I had been known on occasion to take my knitting needles and a small project to work on while I watched a movie, sat in a class, or even in church once in awhile. I liked to have something that I could keep my hands busy and my mind and eyes open.
So in December, while I was visiting, we went to Joann's and found a whole lot of fabrics that I loved together. We then went home, and she imparted of her hexagons, and hexagon knowledge, and I began. I have been working fairly steadily on this project since. It is often the exact excuse I need to sit back and enjoy a tv show on Netflix.
I have found that is a great stress reliever. It is easy to get lost in each of the tiny stitches. I typically keep it on a quilting hoop that my mom got me for my birthday this past September. This allows it to stay off of my lap, so I don't get too hot. It also means that I can see my edges better, to know where I'm working. By the time, I got my hoop, I found that I was spending a solid 5-10 minutes everytime I picked up my quilt just to find where my needle and thread were. I was also getting really tired of having such a lopsided quilt, since I couldn't see what part of the quilt I was adding to. (Some people find my difficulties with randomness a tad odd.)
Many quilters have commented on the craziness of starting quilting with something this difficult. I have actually found this to be almost easier for me than regular piecing. I can understand why they would say this would be difficult, but for me, this consists of no more than basting and stitching. Whereas, I dread squaring, and cutting, as these could so easily be messed up. Here it is at the quilt retreat at the end of February. Photo was kindly taken and shared by
Suzanne.
...fortune is so variant, and the wheel so moveable --Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur
Back in December of 2011, my mother introduced me to quilting. While many women (and some men), start by piecing together squares or strips and then progress to more difficult things, my mother knows me better. She decided that I would love to learn English paper piecing. She had been doing diamonds when she came to visit earlier in the year. I thought that looked like a good idea. I had been known on occasion to take my knitting needles and a small project to work on while I watched a movie, sat in a class, or even in church once in awhile. I liked to have something that I could keep my hands busy and my mind and eyes open.
So in December, while I was visiting, we went to Joann's and found a whole lot of fabrics that I loved together. We then went home, and she imparted of her hexagons, and hexagon knowledge, and I began. I have been working fairly steadily on this project since. It is often the exact excuse I need to sit back and enjoy a tv show on Netflix.
I have found that is a great stress reliever. It is easy to get lost in each of the tiny stitches. I typically keep it on a quilting hoop that my mom got me for my birthday this past September. This allows it to stay off of my lap, so I don't get too hot. It also means that I can see my edges better, to know where I'm working. By the time, I got my hoop, I found that I was spending a solid 5-10 minutes everytime I picked up my quilt just to find where my needle and thread were. I was also getting really tired of having such a lopsided quilt, since I couldn't see what part of the quilt I was adding to. (Some people find my difficulties with randomness a tad odd.)
Many quilters have commented on the craziness of starting quilting with something this difficult. I have actually found this to be almost easier for me than regular piecing. I can understand why they would say this would be difficult, but for me, this consists of no more than basting and stitching. Whereas, I dread squaring, and cutting, as these could so easily be messed up. Here it is at the quilt retreat at the end of February. Photo was kindly taken and shared by Suzanne.
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