Pieces.

I recently took up quilting. I've been avoided it forever, mostly because of the precision involved. Anyone who knows me knows I am more of a... oh, how should I put this... broad brushstroke kind of person. Don't get me wrong, I can do detail; it is just that I tend to fall back on my ability to "make it work".

Oops, I splashed some paint there. Hmm, I think I will make that into a tree. Oh, I accidentally sewed the hem over on this shirt, let's just make it a pleat.

Needless to say, quilting was a bit scary because there is no "making it work". You are either exact or it is wrong.

I knew when I signed up for the hand quilting class that it would not only be a lesson in quilting, but a growth opportunity for me. I would have to be precise, I would have to fix mistakes, I would have to commit to following a pattern.

yikes.

Willa, my quilting instructor, was a wonderful women who has been teaching for years (and years and years). It was amazing to watch her quilt with a rocking stitch I had never seen before and the stitches..oh my lord, the stitches...they were tiny. You almost couldn't see them! It was as if the fabric was just naturally dimpled.

I finished my first quilt about a month after starting it. (Don't be too impressed..it is only a 2'x2' wall hanging. A full blown quilt would take a LOT more than a month.) It now hangs in our family room and I am always struck when I look at it the difference between those first tentative stitches and the small even stitches I created towards the end.

I am excited about continuing to learn about quilting. It is such a lost art. Yes, it is art. The process of selecting the fabrics and deciding on the pattern is more challenging that I ever would have imagined.

I know I have a long way to go but I am excited to keep learning.