FINALLY

Ever have those projects that no matter how hard you work on them, they just never seem to come to an end? Those projects that are a great idea when you get started, and then you hit that inevitable wall that you just can't seem to get past and it takes you years to finish if you even finish at all? In quilting and I'm sure in many of the forms of creations we call those UFO's. The thing about my personality that aggravates me the most is that in quilting I have only 2 UFO's? Can you believe that? I have a quilt that I started for Kalib when he was a baby that I thought I would hand quilt - that was AFTER I hand quilted my first quilt and said I would NEVER do it again, but I did, and it isn't finished. Poor kid, never had a quilt made by his mama. Still doesn't. One day he will, maybe by the time he has his own children. The other is a quilt I designed for a friend who was getting married and the piecing got so harry that it is still in the closet in bags and partially pieced. I will probably never finish it because I hate piecing squares and triangles and the colors are no longer in "style." Maybe by the time the colors come back around I'll be into it again and pull it out IF I keep it around that long. So, why does that aggravate me so much that I only have 2 UFO's? Well, because I can't stand to start a project and not finish it. I very seldom have more than one project going at a time because it really frustrates me to not finish something and I am so wishy washy that if I start a second project before finishing the first I inevitably get lost among the pieces and ideas and end up walking away for long periods of time which is not good for my sanity. Weekly dates with my sewing machine are a must any more for my mental health. If I don't make it there, I lay in bed late at night wishing I was there and thinking of the things I would do if I was.

So, the last 3 years, yes that is what I said, 3 years, I have been working on and off on a king sized quilt. Yes, this contradicts what I just said above which is why I haven't turned out more art work these last 3 years than I have. Now, I know, I'm pretty productive for a mama who works, home schools, dances in a troupe, cooks most of our meals from scratch, and gardens, not to mention buses my children to all the sweet things they do. BUT, I have so many ideas waiting in my mind of quilts that I am hoping 2011 will be a busy year behind my sewing machine. It has started off well. Every time I would start something new because I just couldn't look at Lauren's quilt (this is who the quilt is for) I would feel immense guilt for not working on the king sized quilt. Well, I over quilted it. I would wear my back out pushing and pulling. I'm not a simple person. I am a complicated person who wants a simple life. I over do everything and I seldom take the easy road. Enter Lauren's quilt. I got it pieced in 2 days. Beautiful. Got it basted with the help of a friend and was ready to go. Looked at it, decided how to quilt it and then BAM the wall... lines, lines, and more lines. I had to put it down. Had to do something that challenged my brain. GUILT, guilt, and more guilt. Picked up Lauren's quilt... lines, lines, lines... new project, you get the point. Finally, after 3 years of this same cycle and each time I would enter into the guilt stage, I wouldn't be able to quilt because I knew I needed to be working on one thing and my heart wanted to work on something else, so I just avoided it. Who else does this? Come on, be honest?

Last year, I decided, I was going to finish the quilt. NO matter what. I made an agreement with myself that each time I would sit at my machine I would quilt 1 bobbins worth which is about an hour and a half of lines, then I would pull it out from under my machine and work on something else. AND HURRAY it worked and I'm productive again and got all kinds of ideas streaming out of me and the best part is the quilt is finished and bound! She's going to get it in like a week. It's hard to believe it took this long and it is a beautiful quilt. It will be a very very long time before I commit to another quilt like this one - if ever, but the lessons I learned about myself along the way are priceless and now, Lauren can cut my hair again. She's the best stylist for my hair and this quilt was a barter between us. She was always patient and it was me who decided to stop using her until I finished because I was embarrassed to go in knowing I might be working on something other than her quilt. Thankfully, it is done and she has seen the pictures and she's excited and I can go back to my favorite stylist. All is well in the world and now, I am committed to much smaller projects and not taking any commissions until I get some of the ideas I have floating around in there out. Stay tuned!

Finally, here's the quilt - my pictures really don't do the quilting justice.