One of my really early quilt sketches...
The response to my first post on quilting without obligation was overwhelming to say the least; lots of thoughtful and insightful comments and even more emails. And no hate mail LOL! Not that I expected that many mean people read my blog but you never know when you present an opinion... ;) It also appears that I'm not the only one thinking along these lines.
So here's the second installment of Quilting Without Obligation. And now is probably a good time for a definition. What does this mean? For me, it means living the process of a unique quilt from start to finish.
Notice I did not say enjoying the process because that would be unfair. But let's at least be honest about the process!
I would much rather read, "I was inspired to design this quilt by... I really struggled with this step... I don't like sewing binding on by hand but I did it... I messed up when I was cutting this fabric..." instead of "here's my perfect quilt that I made in two days, don't you love it??".
Now, I'm not being mean. For real. We would all love to make the perfect quilt in a few days time but that is not what appeals to me when we are talking about the art of quilting. To me, a quilt of obligation is one that takes little time, isn't very visually appealing, and is easily reproduced. And I know we've all been there making a baby gift at the last minute and that's really OK. However, making a quilt just to get it in your shop, to sell a pattern, or post a finished picture on your blog waters down the process for me.
Art should be a rich process with rich results. A process with ups and downs. A process with imperfections that come to life because you stretch to work with them.
For me, my favorite part of the quilting process is cutting fabric and piecing it. The logic, yes logic, behind cutting up fabric into pieces and sewing it together again is only logic because the end result is more appealing than the starting point. I love to take stacks of fabrics, stack and re-stack them and visualize a quilt. The funny thing though is that I used to be terrified of cutting fabric.
When I began quilting three years ago, I had my husband cut my fabric pieces {I know he's going to love me sharing that here LOL!} because if a mistake was made, it was his and not mine. But eventually I got brave and did this on my own and I began to love it because ironically enough, if I made a mistake, it was my mistake to create around.
So, what is your favorite part of the quilting process? Or maybe, if you are brave, what is your least favorite part of the process?