Just Keep Sewing !

Wow, y’all it’s already that time again! Time has just flown by this week! This week you are getting Jamie, I missed y’all. In fairness, we’ve been really busy with Mother’s Day, gathering with friends, and for my youngest graduates this year. And we’ve been running ’round like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to get everything done for that. I know there are different seasons of motherhood, and the mama’s out there just surviving, don’t wanna hear this, but y’all try to enjoy it, the time goes by so fast. This week we are talking about quilts, and Samantha and I both made one this last week, well the tops anyway. And I am going to be very vocal about mine because I actually taught myself so much with this one! And I can’t wait to share it all, the good, bad, and oh no’s!

So I have been waiting for the new pattern from Southern Charm Quilts! I watched and waited for her to release her Fernweh pattern ( https://meanderandmake.com/fernweh-quilt-pattern-pdf-pattern/) , ’cause y’all it is gorgeous! And the day she did, I bought and printed it, immediately! I had planned on making it the moment I saw it! So I f-i-n-a-l-l-y I got around to making it! I was so excited to start, I had some new notions, I recently bought a new machine, we can talk about that more later if you want, a new Iron, and “Mr.Jamie” (he’s gonna love that) did the best thing ever for me y’all! I will share more on it later as well. But I bought an old table, and he put my quilting machine in it flush with the table!! Y’all it’s Heaven!

When I go to make it… and the fabric I had planned for it, well, it wouldn’t work. This leads me to my first lesson, read the pattern before you make fabric choices, even just mentally. I was so let down that I couldn’t use the fabric, my brain had chosen, that I almost didn’t make it. And I am so glad I did, because, I realized I can make one from that fabric, with some extra planning. For a bit, I was really torn on what fabric to use. And with some serious anxiety, I made my selections from my fabric stash. Which I struggle with sometimes, to cut or not to cut. Because what if I mess up, or I wish I had used it someplace else? So I chose some purples that I could replace, and since I don’t typically decorate with or wear purple, but also loved the fabric. I figured it was a safe choice .

Then I almost lost interest while cutting it out, which reminds me I need to teach myself to enjoy the cutting process. I think the majority of my sewjo problems stem from the cutting-out process. Which is the next thing I learned, and that is also my common issue with garment making as well. Once I figured out my own way of doing the math, and fewer cuts since I suffer from numeric dyslexia. It was a breeze and relatively fast to do. All of these bumps, and I was just to the cutting out . I will also add these issues were me-made, not pattern made. I have a knack for overthinking and overcomplicating things, it’s a talent you could say. Guess, I did finally get a Me Made May accomplished though.

Now let’s piece this, did I read the instructions, and follow them to the letter? Yes, yes I did exactly as said. Did I take everything too literally and overcomplicate myself, also Yes! But I did get the blocks made and pressed them nice and flat. Trimmed them, when I noticed my measurements weren’t exactly spot on. And again, I got really frustrated because the blocks were made, and no way was I seam ripping the whole quilt. I definitely need my sanity. I read, and reread the instructions, trying to find my mistake. And I couldn’t figure it out, I leaned back in my sewing chair, and that is when I saw it. I use that handy tape, that has the red line, and the 1/4 inch mark on either side in blue. Do you wanna know what is especially helpful, on your fancy new machine? You know the one that was going to make quilting easier. The very same one you have barely used. Make sure that the red line is in perfect alignment with where the needle actually hits! Did I do this? No, I did not, I just looked from one angle and trusted that it was good enough. Y’all don’t be Jamie, check that before you start, not after you have finished.

To scrap it, or to finish it, that was the next question. I definitely wasn’t wasting that fabric, or all that work. I just kept saying “Not Today Satan”, I must have been saying it out loud and often because I ended up with all four of my four-legged sewing assistants looking at me as I sewed that last row to the others, lining them up as best as was possible with my major malfunctions. As I was pressing all those final seams open, my heart ached as I saw that the points lined up here and here, yet these two were really far apart. And I was so disheartened, because as we all know we are our own worst critics, and I have the added bonus of perfectionism to boot. Y’all don’t know how close to balling that quilt top up and tossing it in a poke to hide forever I was, but I figured I would just take a peek.

I cleared the floor of strings, and my sewing helpers and I carefully spread the quilt top on the floor. noticing the flaws as I did so, and trying to restrain the four-month-old puppy from running off with the corner. When I picked him up and stood back, what I saw amazed me. Were the flaws still there? Of course, they are every one of them. But I didn’t notice them anymore. There laid a gorgeous quilt top, with contrasting colors that complemented one another amazingly. And I couldn’t wait to snuggle under it, the next cool day, which we are still suffering a few of this year. This was just the topper, it hadn’t been quilted yet, so if my eyes weren’t immediately drawn to them, then by the time I quilt it, and wash it so that it crinkles. Those flaws will be less noticeable. Which was the biggest lesson y’all, finish the quilt. Because you’re going to love it, just keep sewing !