When I was home last Christmas, I went through all of my old boxes that had been in the basement for years.  I found in one my first attempt at making a quilt.

This was the product of a long weekend staying at my beloved craft mom’s house. I still remember it so well!  Mrs. Jones was and is an amazing amazing quilter. She took me to a fabric shop and let me design my first quilt–picking out a pattern and fabrics.  The colors were decidedly Laura Ashly inspired but at the time I loved them.

I sped through making that quilt top so quickly. Let’s just say the pieces didn’t necessarily match up perfectly. But it didn’t matter to me.

Then I moved cross country and the quilt was packed up, only to be taken out again a few years later after I was cast in the musical, Quilters.  I guess my drama teacher was into method acting because she set up a quilt to hand stitch in the school library. I remember sitting there during many a free period slowly learning to hand quilt.  And I loved it.  It was simply magical to me.

But the musical ended and I was swept up into applying for colleges and being a senior and the little pink, blue and green quilt was boxed up again, to be forgotten until that trip out to Colorado for the holidays.

My parents happily sent that quilt out to me and again, it waited. Until a week ago, when I felt the need to to some hand quilting.  Just an hour at night. I’m amazed at how fast I fell into it again.  And with the temps lowering, it is pretty nice to just snuggle under the quilt.

When I pick up the quilting hoop, the Peach will find me and snuggles under it. And the cat just knows. I can’t pull out without that cat finding me and plunking herself right on top of it.

I’m making mistakes, of course and this quilt isn’t the most fabulous colors, but they have grown on me. I do still love them.  And there is just something about this something quilt… I just want to finish it.  Twenty years isn’t too long to take to finish it?  Surely someone has an older UFO hanging around in their craft room? Or not. But I’m really enjoying the process right now and that is half of the battle, right?

I’m taking Craftober very seriously, indeed!

Are you a quilter? Have you ever tried hand quilting?