Add Some Color

I finished this ‘miniquilt’ for our dry sink last night. It took me about three weeksto get it done. I used a fabric panel that had a rainbow wave of colors, a quarter circle cutting tool to practice making circles with, and did some free quilting to mimic water-stains in the circles.

For the batting, I pieced together scraps of batting left over from other projects.

For the back, I constructed a panel of fabric from practice squares that I’ve done over the last ten years.

Three weeks of hobby crafting seems like a good amount of time for this project.

But here is the truth. The quilt was done all but the binding – the final completing edge – two weeks ago. I had gotten into a flow of play and creativity and it was DELIGHTFUL.

Ending on a positive note, I knew the binding would be a quick weeknight finish.

Little did I know that this binding would take two weeks, and no less than six sessions of ‘unpicking’ stitches and starting over.

Was I using a new skill? Was the fabric particularly tricky? Did the cats keep sabotaging me?

NO. I was impatient and trying to hurry to get it done.

And that is what this Sprouts is all about. Because I know YOU have done the same thing. And I know I will likely keep this lesson close for about two and a half months before I try to speed my way through something that wants my patience and close attention.

I’m really pleased with the quilt I designed and made. It is an added bonus that it is two sided depending on my mood or when the cats cover it in too much fur on one side.

And while it stays on display it will hold the lesson of the binding – To stay with a project or conversation with the attention and pace that it (that I?) needs.

Otherwise, we’re just gonna end up chasing stray threads all over the place for weeks. (Literally and figuratively – you get it.)