... hey, how is that for a great title of a post? I am such a writer, aren't I ... ha ha! Well here I am peeking my head in to say I have sure missed blogging! Do you know I write to you all all the time in my head ... when I'm carrying on about my day I think "hey, this is how I would write this on my blog . . ." ... I guess that means I'm a frustrated writer!!
This is a thimble-ful of information of all I have done in the last week or so ... quilt four customer quilts; teach a class; work at The Country Loft; help a sweet friend finish a quilt she started two years ago for her mom; dorm marathon shop with my daughter (twice!); bake my brains out in the high heat from the last few days; help son work out heavy life issues ... on top of my normal life!
Instead of looking at all of this like my life is a chore, I choose instead to see it this way ...
Point #1. I have a longarm quilting machine that I absolutely love, love, love! Every time I have the opportunity to quilt a quilt for a customer/friend I am thankful I made the decision to buy my Innova quilting machine! I stand at that machine and work my magic and in the process, stitch by stitch, I pour my life and soul into every quilt I stitch. Sound a little dramatic? ... well it is therapy for me ... and anyone that quilts in any form, knows what I'm talking about.
One of the quilts I had the privilege of quilting was this scrappy star quilt. I had a vision of what I wanted the quilting to look like ... dark blue thread, a little custom quilting and a swirl ... I did the first row and hated the way the swirl looked. I ripped out the quilting on one of the backgrounds ... it took about 3 hours ... the row took about 20 min. to quilt, and ripping out two backgrounds on the stars took about 5 hours ... I decided to try something different.
I alternated the loopy swirl with an outline ... I liked the way it looked so I continued ... I got halfway done with the quilt and decided for some reason I didn't like it at all! Dilemma! Do I rip it all out? Do I give it to the customer and ask her to pay for something that I don't think is my best work???
I stared at it some more ... and finally decided that I was being picky and indecisive. I have a lot of things going on at home at the moment ... maybe that was clouding my thinking (it was definitely clouding my thinking) and that my customer was going to love the different stitching ... I hoped!
I used a navy Permacore thread on top and Glide in the bobbin ... when I pulled the quilt off the frame and turned it over onto the back I decided I liked the quilting ... that was what cemented my decision. I figured if my customer did not like it (and I know her well enough to be able to tell if she didn't), I would offer her a discount or offer to fix the quilting. The conclusion of the story is funny ... she just picked up the quilt today and called me at home to tell me how much she LOVED the quilting ... loved the detail and how different it was. Does it matter if I loved it?? Nope ... it is not my quilt ... I was so excited that she was happy! It's a little scary sometimes to know that you are putting your name on work that will be seen by many ... I always want it to be a representation of my best ... but I'm my worst critic ... enough said there!
Point #2: How many people get to do what they love in life and make money from it? I often fret about teaching because it is a lot of work ... there is the prep beforehand ... making the quilt, figuring out the supply requirements, writing a pattern, printing the pattern, etc., etc. There is definitely not the monetary reward equal to the time ... BUT and this is a huge but ... when I teach other people what I love to do and the hobby that has really fulfilled me as a person, wife, mother, friend ... the rewards I get from teaching are much greater than any $$$ I could make ... and that is okay by me! I had the privilege of teaching three people last week how to quilt ... that's three more converts ... wahoo!
I'm going to continue this post into another day ... after not hearing from me in over a week, I don't want to wear you out in one sitting! I do hope you're enjoying the rest of your summer ... the long, hot days of August always remind me of being a kid and squeezing all the fun out of those last weeks of summer ... sun, water, fresh air, family ... enjoy!!!
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