The little girl is keeping quilting at an all-time low. I sewed more than this when I was working insane hours in Afghanistan and didn’t have weekends! Then again, in Afghanistan I didn’t have to take out the trash, cook dinner, do dishes, laundry, mow the lawn, or commute. I also didn’t have cable, and I admit to sitting in front of the TV to relax at night.
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| Tessa, 4 months |
My first full quilt since getting back is for “Quilts for Kids”. I highly recommend it as a great program that distributes quilts to kids that are hospitalized around the world. Another bonus for this program is that they have kits that you can request. I did that for the quilt below. The fabric arrived at my house, partially precut and ready to be sewn. All they ask in return is that as the quilter you provide the manpower, the batting, and pay the postage to mail it back within 4-6 weeks of receiving the kit. I admit that I will be closer to 8 weeks by the time they receive it, but as I mentioned before the puppy demands more time than I had initially expected. The link to request a quilt follows: http://www.quiltsforkids.org/patterns/request/
This is actually the first quilt I have made 100% on my home sewing machine. Before I moved, I used to rent the long arm from the LQS for a reasonable price so there was no reason to wrestle with a quilt on my personal machine. I don’t know if it gets easier with time, but I didn’t really enjoy my first attempt. I enjoy the freedom and convenience of the long arm. I will have to do more research to see if there is one I can rent in this area.
I actually had this quilt sitting, waiting for the binding for about two weeks before I finally finished it. What motivated me to finally finish it? Fabric! Sweetwater’s new lines are gorgeous, and I ordered some, but I made myself wait to cut into it until I finished the “Quilt for Kids” project. Now I am debating between starting the Christmas quilt from their “Countdown to Christmas” collection or to do the more practical year-round quilt I need for the guest bedroom…