I am finally finished the Vintage Valentine Quilt!
Only 17 years in the making! I spent many hours quilting it.
I am always so surprised when I take a quilt off the frame. I have a handiQuilter Avante which has an 18 inch throat space. Truthfully when I am doing custom work I couldn’t really work on anything larger than that, my arms simply aren’t that long.
However, what I find is that you are concentrating so hard on that small space and in that space you see every error and imperfection.
Then, when you finally take that quilt off the frame and stand back. Wow!
Suddenly all those imperfections blend in with the whole and they are not noticeable anymore.
Accomplishment
I am so proud of myself over this quilt. Normally, I let fear and judgement stop me. I have left quilt tops sitting for years as I was too scared to quilt them the way I wanted them to be quilted. I mean, what if I made a mistake!
Not this time, I knew that this quilt deserved something more than simple all over quilting or even light custom quilting.
I’m glad I decided to just go for it even though I used so many new to me techniques.
When I finally pulled this quilt off the frame it took my breath away! I was so happy with the result, mistakes and all.
I LOVED quilting this quilt. I had client quilts backing up in my queue so I ended up quilting until midnight for 2 nights just to get this off my frame.
I so enjoyed the process of both the quilting and the design phase that I am now thinking up different designs for the Flower Basket quilt top that is next on my list. I was originally thinking of just doing something simple but am rethinking that now. This one might prove to be more challenging as it has a black background however, we’ll see.
Lesson Learned
For anyone just starting out with your quilting and you get anxious over your mistakes, really, unless they are HUGE, once that quilt is finished, and you are looking at the quilt as a whole, you will never, ever see the imperfections.
It’s kinda like life, when you stand back and look at your life as a whole, the imperfect parts drift away.
Remember to keep challenging yourself it’s the only way to grow and improve in both quilting and life!