Kicking Some Glass Quilt

Back in August...of 2012, I wrote about this quilt (first post and second post/pattern) that I named "Kicking Some Glass." Well, almost 4 1/2 years later, I finished. I decided to take a break from my non-blogging break to share it with you.

Why did it take me so long to finish it? Here's what I remember: I loved piecing it. It's my own design that I made with charm squares. I loved the fabric. Then I started quilting it. It took me a while to determine my approach, but I decided to go with fairly random diagonal lines. That's when the hate began. I had to use a ruler to draw the lines...and draw...and draw. It didn't take long before I got sick of drawing and quilting. So I folded it up and it sat. For over four years, I moved it from room to room. At one point, I thought that I'd rip out any quilting that I'd done and simplify it.

Then something happened. I stopped sewing and it sat in one spot in my sewing room. And I saw it every day for over a year. A few weeks ago, I got tired of looking at it and decided to take action. When I opened it up, I realized that I had quilted just over half of it, which was too much to rip out. 

My next thought was to quilt a few lines a day. So on December 31st, I threaded my machine and started with no intention of doing much. But this time, I didn't draw straight lines. I just sewed as straight as I could. I didn't care. I just wanted it to be done. And really, who sees it? Who cares!? Before I knew it, I was almost done.

 

I wasn't too sure what I thought as I quilted, but as soon as I cut off the excess and the quilt started to take shape, I knew that it was a keeper. Then I cut my binding...too narrow (2" rather than 2 1/4"), but again, I didn't care. And in the end, I like the narrower binding! I guess that's what happens when you don't sew or quilt for a while.

I guess my main take-away is that as much as I love the quilting part of quilting, I don't love it that much! What's wonderful is that although I haven't sewn in almost a year, finishing this has inspired me. And I think that's the added bonus of not blogging my projects; I don't get bogged down by taking pictures and writing. I just get to sew. For me.