Quick and Dirty

Or at least that is how it felt to get this quilt done. I am starting to go a bit nuts with waiting on this baby and needed to do something to distract myself; something to get my mind off every twitch, twinge, contraction and ache. I decided cleaning up the sewing space was in order and that's when I (again) unearthed this quilt-in-progress. It is actually the first quilt top I ever pieced, before I understood anything about cutting, sewing, quilting, fabric or the like. In fact, I think that this top has been pieced and folded up for just under 6 years. So I pulled it out, spread it out and did the best I could to sandwich it with a back, and pin it, while being 40 wks. pregnant.

It didn't turn out great. The quilting is haphazard, wonky, imprecise and pulled and puckered in all the wrong places. But the quilt is done. I also tried out a fully machine-sewn binding (fantastic tutorial here) this time around. I love it and will definitely use the technique again!

And in the end I don't really mind the way it looks. The monochromatic purple, while arguably overwhelming, is soothing to me for some reason. I like the squares, the rows and rows of shifting color and pattern. The quilt has been washed and was quickly appropriated by my youngest for her use. In fact, she accompanied me the whole time I quilted it, giving me positive feedback now and again, "that looks GREAT mama!" she would say to me from time to time. Underneath her sassy exterior, and often-times challenging modus operandi, she can be my biggest cheerleader.

Maybe there is something in this last bit of pregnant frenzy that is teaching me about what life will be like with four little ones. It won't always be perfect, the way I planned, or seamless, but it will be full of fun, and full of unexpected pleasures in unforeseen places.