Little Bit Here, Little Bit There

I got one block finished today. When I moved my quilting machine into the other room, the ironing board stayed in the studio-office. That means when I work on a project, sometimes I walk forth & back from one workstation to the other. Makes for a longer day, but then it is a bit of exercise, I suppose. 

One block. This Log Cabin came out lovely even though the fabrics got changed as it got pieced, for a variety of reasons; and one red log didn't work so left the table. I did enjoy the lessons it brought me. One block. If it is tradition that one side represents the challenges in life and the other side its joys, for this one, green brought out joys for me and red its challenges. Usually the center block is red for the hearth fire, but most fires burn more yellow or blue than red, so made sense for me here.

Then I worked the rest of the day on the 6" blocks. All I can say to them at this point is "Gahhh!" Maybe tomorrow they will go together easier.

One of my dear Cousins lives in Alaska and has been willing to take a couple of my practice pieces. Her feedback is quite valued because she is so very authentic. The last one I sent was a small fabric box. She said the concept would work as gifts to just about anyone on my list, so I started putting three together. First comes fabric selection, and these three are 10" coordinated squares, joined with batting to form a sandwich. I've pinned the edges and will do a top stitch around all four sides and then for quilting, do a simple channel stitch that forms a squared labyrinth. Although they look nice together, they will go to three different homes. I plan to load my bobbins with green quilting thread so selected fabrics so the green would contrast.

Almost every quilting day, something happens that doesn't turn out like I planned or like I want. On the days when that one project doesn't work, its easy to set it aside and go on to something else. In many ways, its like letting go of the control factor. However, I cannot leave things for very long to let them slip into that UFO status.

I think the people in my life whom I trust to provide some wisdom-feedback, like my Cuz in Alaska, help me envision that bigger picture. I don't want to look at life's struggle so much as I want to embrace the joys that surfaced. Whether it was because of a Log Cabin block or a fabric box, this day was good.