Here's a look at the finished quilt.
This shows some of the detail of the hand quilting.
My friend Dyann came over from Bellevue with her kids the Saturday before last and helped me with quilting. Sneaky girl, when I wasn't looking she embroidered Audrey's initials inside a little heart on one of the corners of the quilt. So cute!
The whole quilting bee thing did not turn out quite as I expected. Even though I sent out invitations to about 25 people, I had a grand total of four friends show up over the course of all three Saturdays. The first Saturday only two friends showed up. So Debbie came over (after dealing with her goat issues), showed me how to do the rotary cutting, and I cut and pieced the top myself.
The second Saturday, no one came. I cried for a while (stupid pregnancy hormones!), wrote a cathartic poem, vented to Debbie on the phone, and then moved on and started the hand quilting on my own. During the week, Debbie came by again with her daughters and helped with the hand quilting.
On the last Saturday, Dyann and Mary were there and we did a lot of hand quilting. Since then, I've worked on my own to finish the remainder of the quilting and sew on the binding.
What did I learn from all this? Let's see... Not to pin my hopes and expectations on one "special" event or experience; things often don't turn out as planned. Real friends usually can't conform their schedules to your agenda because (hello) they actually have their own lives—but they always manage to pull through for you somehow, even if it's not the way you expect. And finally... there's a good reason people use quilting frames! But even if a quilt isn't perfect, all that love sewn in still makes it beautiful.
5 comments:
katie, i love it. and i feel horrible that i wasn't able to come. especially when you said that you cried when no one showed up. we love you, katie!! we've all been talking about how this summer has been really busy, for all of us. but, i'm very excited for your baby shower in a couple of weeks! woo-hoo!
Oh, Aubrey--it wasn't supposed to be a guilt trip! I came to the realization that summer is just a crazy time, and most people make plans. Next time, I've just got to have another winter baby!
the guilt. it hurts. okay here come the excuses: 1. i didn't actually find your unopened invitation from our huge mail pile until after your first post about it. 2. out of town 2/3 times. shameful. don't worry, we'll all make up for it on the 15th. thanks for not taking it personally!!
oh yes, and i love the quilt! it's gorgeous! all of that love sewn makes it a keepsake she'll always treasure!
Oh!! The quilt is so beautiful!!! And what a gift of love -- each stitch and detail are really special.
:)
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