This quilt hangs in Studio Two, opposite my writing space. It inspires me to keep moving forward even when things are not perfect.
The Beginning
My friend wrote this pattern, and she was offering a class to teach the pattern. I signed up for several reasons. I wanted to support my friend – I am learning that supporting the people I care about is a strong motivator for me. I also really liked the pattern, and I had never worked with plaid fabrics before. I had also never done a prairie point border.
The Middle
This was a really hard pattern for me! During class time I struggled to make sense of the different triangles and how they came together to form new shapes.
I struggled with the bias edges. Bias edges stretch easily every time the piece is handled, sewn, or pressed.
I struggled with the plaids. Plaids also stretch easily every time a piece is handled, sewn or pressed.
I struggled to get my points to match. Most of them don’t – and then I struggled to just let it be. To accept that this would not be a perfect quilt.
I did manage to get the top together by the end of the class. I had quite a lot of homework time at home.
The End
It took me several years to quilt this one. I did a mix of swirls to represent wind, point to point to fill in some areas, and hearts to surround it all. The next step was to attach the prairie point border. That took a little longer, and I made several test pieces before I finally understood how to attach them, and how to work around the corners. Again, it’s not a perfect job. But I love the final outcome.
My friend is a good instructor, and extremely patient. She never got excited or impatient with all my questions, and she responded to my frustration and anger/anxiety by showing me again and again how to move forward. Her encouragement was instrumental in my finishing this project. Even after the class she continued to gently nudge me on until I was able to get to the very last step.
