Sewing room

I had lost my sew-jo. That's the urge to get in there, pick a quilt pattern, sort through your fabric stash, start ironing and cutting, get ready to piece it all together, all the steps to start a new quilt.

Life stresses, motherhood, a couple of bouts of illness, and the weeks turned into months where I hadn't started a quilt project. I'd maybe take a spin or two through Pinterest, to see what quilt ideas I had liked in the past, admired them, remembered why I liked them, and then turn off the iPad and go and do something else.

Finally, the holidays were over, and my last knitting project was complete, so I decided to work on a VERY simple quilt - a basic nine patch (that's equal sized patches arranged by three, in three rows) made from two packages of charm squares I had on hand. Charm squares are complete sets of a designer's "line" packaged together in 5" squares. I'd never sewn with them before, always preferring a more independent path, but here I was!

At the last minute, I decided to make it a little less simple and cut my big old nine patches into four, to turn the design into a 'disappearing nine patch.' Which adds a little bit of random to the quilt's look, but still leaves some big patches of the fabric design shine through.

I remembered why I loved quilting. Calm, repetitive, with the tasks being just varied enough to keep my interest. Put on some good music, have a cup of tea handy, and it's a nice, productive way to while away a cloudy afternoon.

The fabric line is called 'Hometown' by Moda, and is somewhat demure, with muted reds and blues, some beiges and greys, using simple patterns - dots, stripes, and checks. The 'hometown' part is the text-based fabric that names just about any American town you could think of, including Walla Walla, Bainbridge Island and Paducah.

And my efforts had an intendee. A dear friend whose husband was battling a serious illness. I 'd seen the way Walla Walla had rallied around this man, and his family, with fundraisers, and meal trains and updates, and I thought these gentle colors and hometown names represented the hometown love that was wrapping around my friend during this awful time.

So when it came time to quilt it, I did a nice loopy design of mostly hearts for all the love, with a block chain border representing this community's solid framework.

I hand sewed on the striped bias border and gave it a good wash and a tumble and soon I'll bring it to my friend. Maybe she'll appreciate the message, or maybe it will be a nice thing to throw on someone's lap from time to time. Either way, it's been a gift to me to get back in the sewing room and to get back to making again.