Finding The Joy Again

It’s always a sad thing when an activity you normally love stops giving you pleasure. But I had become so harried and distracted with a pretty crazy schedule that the joy had largely gone out of my quilting. I have been sewing, though sometimes infrequently. But an unexpected change in my employment status has allowed me the opportunity to step back and re-evaluate things with some very positive results.

I have actually been making progress on Dan’s quilt. It’s gotten large enough that photographing it is becoming a challenge. I am nearly finished the 4th side of a pieced border. So I’m going to wait until I’ve added that to post a progress update. If you’re curious, the center in previous pictures is completed and has had a solid border added in a greenish print. After the pieced border, it just needs another solid border and the top will be finished. My husband has talked me into designing a quilt based on Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s stained glass windows. That has really sparked my creativity and I am pouring over books and pictures and beginning to sketch.

In the meantime, I decided to pursue a project I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I have amassed a pretty decent collection of fat quarters and scraps for such a casual quilter. So I thought it would be fun to do a nickel quilt. I’ve had a copy of Nickel Quilts: Great Designs from 5-Inch Scraps by Pat Speth and Charlene Thode for quite a while. But I never seem to get around to making one. Well, I finally chose a pattern, Tillie’s Treasure, and started digging through my fabric stash. That was what really brought back the joy. Before I knew it, I was pressing and cutting, reveling in smell of fabric and the beautiful patterns I’d forgotten I had. The picture at the top of this post is the first, partially completed block. I’m so excited to have time and energy to quilt again and, especially, that I have rediscovered the joy in my hobby.