Sewing

I’ve been totally boring all week long, hence the lack of posts.

But today I managed to finish the top of the baby quilt. For someone who doesn’t do handwork having to do some hand embroidery is horrifying. It is best not to look too closely.

I think the rabbit is smirking at me.

Then I started cutting but fabric for my next scrap quilt. I decided to randomly pull stuff out of my blue bin. I didn’t realize how many ugly fabrics I had in there. Where do these things come from? I’m going to say they must have come from swaps because these are mostly so not my taste.

I was reading some Quilter’s Newsletter Magazines from the 1980s. I can’t believe how much has changed in quilting since then. In those magazines:

• All the directions use templates.  Occasionally there is an explanation of how to use a rotary cutter to cut around your templates
• There is no such thing as strip piecing or quick piecing triangles.
• Many serious articles discuss if it is ok to machine quilt and mention that people are starting to accept that you won’t burn in hell for machine piecing
• There are no ads for long arm machines
• In order to get any info about quilt shows you need to send a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope for the young ‘uns) and 45 cents to a post office box.
• Scrap quilts are quilts that have more than 5 fabrics.
• All borders are done in solid fabrics in muted tones. Super ugly to the mind of a person used to all kinds of color in her quilt fabrics

I’m glad I started quilting in the 90s when there was more color and machine work was pretty standard and I’ve never had to use templates.  Of course in 20 years we’ll be making fun of the techniques I love now!