Top Five Joys of Quilting
Number 5: The sound of a well-tuned sewing machine, stitching steadily as a train clacking over tracks.
Number 4: The scent of Magic Sizing steaming up from under a hot iron.
Irons from Gram and Aunt Millie.
Number 3: The satisfying feel of the proper tool working on its proper task, especially when they are hand-me-downs from a relative.
All sorts of scissors, from Aunt Millie.
Number 2: The sight of colorful notions inspiring ideas for new projects, even as you finish up the current one.
Thread in different colors, weights, and types.
Jar of quilt pencils, glue sticks, etc.
And the Number 1 Joy of Quilting: The taste of success in taking all those scraps that someone didn’t want or couldn’t keep, and turning them into a useful quilt for someone who needs it!
Christmas lap quilts for the VA hospital.
Scrappy blocks with a modern vibe.
Pieced back.
This last quilt was inspired by Tula Pink’s City Sampler, and Alexandra Ledgerwood’s Game Day from her book Improvising Tradition. I made random blocks from donated scraps, and then set them far apart, on large gray and white strips. It feels so great to finally get some projects finished this year!
Also, it feels great to find another use for one of our trailers — it’s a great quilt display rack!
What about you? Do you agree with my Picks of Quilt Joy? Do you have others??
Love all those choices… I’d add my lovely silks and laces, and don’t forget the ribbons… I love silk embroidery also..can you yell?
I have saved lots of pictures of silk ribbon embroidery over the years, but that is one technique I haven’t gotten to yet!
I love it, not that I’m doing much embroidery at all at the moment. It’s easier than it looks and can be absolutely addictive.
I did mean tell, not yell 🙂
I have included your blog in INTERESTING BLOGS in FRIDAY FOSSICKING at
https://thatmomentintime-crissouli.blogspot.com/2017/10/friday-fossicking-20th-october-2017.html
Thank you, Chris
Thank you for including me, and as far as “tell/yell” I figured it out. But I thought maybe it was a good expression — you love the embroidery so much it makes you want to yell about it! 🙂
You could well be right! 🙂
Love the old irons 😀
Me too! They work so much better than the new ones that won’t actually heat up; I think the manufacturers are afraid of being sued.
Thanks for stopping by, I was glad to be introduced to your blog. I especially love the idea of Free Day Friday!
I have an old iron that I use exclusively. I shunned the new ones – I miss the auto shutoff but don’t want to give up the tried and true.
That scrappy one really catches my eye and we also piece the backs for our lap quilts for Nsg. Homes. And boy do people get FUSSY about those backs haha but it doesn’t match the front etc etc etc but they do get done! I had my Mother’s HEAVY iron that I loved until the ? cloth cord started to look really dodgy and the dial wouldn’t turn so I had to give it up 😦
What are Nsg. homes?
People here seem to love the pieced backs, even those older more conservative folks that I would expect might fuss about it. And this one is going to the Pregnancy Assistance Center so I am pretty sure some girl will go “Oooh, purple!” and be happy. 🙂
Sorry, nurse abbreviations, Nursing homes/Assisted Living Homes. Great, Pregnancy Assistance Center!
Okay, it seems obvious now! Thanks for filling me in.
Ooooh, I like your modern scrap quilt!
Thank you! The quilting has LOTS of issues that we won’t go into, but I do love the look of the design. I think I am going to make a version of every single quilt in Alexandra Ledgerwood’s book, I love them all! 🙂
Your scissors look like they’re line dancing. I would add petting the fabric to the joys. Love your modern scrap quilt. All that space gives the colors room to breathe.
Oh yes! Petting the fabric!
Maybe the scissors are in fact dancing, because they are so happy they only have to do their assigned task — and no paper cutting! 🙂
There is just so much to love about quilting, I would add FABRIC, the collecting of it, the organizing, the “fabric pulls” for projects.
Another is the joy and satisfaction of finishing a quilt top – I feel good all day when I have a completed one.
And then the actual quilting, the sound of the sewing machine is calming and soothing as you noted in your Joy No. 5.
I have hand-me-down and thrift shop find scissors, my favorites being the Weiss brand.
This was fun to read and look at. YAY for some finishes! I love the “modern” quilt, and of course the VA quilts, always close to my heart.
As to some of those tools, my daughter gave me a pair of Gingher scissors. I didn’t need a new pair of scissors, I couldn’t imagine that I’d care. But oh my! they are the best scissors ever! I never held a pair that felt so well balanced, that cut so smoothly! I don’t use them much (because they are larger, and usually I need small blades,) but when I do, they are a real pleasure. 🙂
My favorite is #1 I’m always grateful to be given scraps and using it for a New Project. Thank you for sharing, Mtetar
That is the best, isn’t it? Thanks for commenting!
I think quilting is an amazing, extraordinary art. I just posted a gallery of quilts at my Sunday Evening Art Gallery (http://wp.me/s5LGaO-quilts) because I think it is an art just as important and impressive as anything else the Arts show off. And I’m proud of you for being into it as you are!
Love those old scissors. Have a pair of my Mom’s that I used as a child…great memories