Monday, June 14, 2010

Queen size quilt???

I’ll never make a queen size quilt. No, it’s not the thought of the cost of all that fabric - I have enough fabric stashed in my shelves to stock a quilt shoppe, nor is it because the thought of quilting it is overwhelming – I have a mid-arm quilting machine that would handle it just fine. No, while these might be valid reasons, the truth is - and I'll admit it - I get bored easily. 

Whether it’s baking some cookies or making a quilt, it has to be something that I can do quickly and then move on to the next project before I lose interest (ask me how many partially completed quilt tops are lurking in my cupboards!). I look for projects that are simple and quick to construct but have a “boy, that must’ve been difficult to make” look. While I marvel at intricate patterns with dozens of fabrics in them, the truth is that I’ll never construct a large quilt using one of those patterns. I might take them out and look at them from time to time, I might even make one up in a smaller size, but I’ll never drape a large quilt across my bed. I know my limits and try to quilt according to them. Quick projects that use fewer than a dozen fabrics are my reality. Queen size quilts, not so much; wall hangings much more so.

So now that you know that I'm more of a smaller project size gal, I'll also let you know that I’m not one of those quilters who feels compelled to finish one project before starting the next one. In fact, I can’t honestly remember when I actually did finish one project before starting another one. I have a plethora of partially completed wall hangings, bags and quilts in my cupboards. I have several quilt tops waiting in my closet to be quilted, batting and backing already cut. I know, it's shocking and I do envy and admire quilters who can focus and complete one project at a time. But that's just not me. I love deciding on a pattern, choosing just the right fabrics for it and getting the fabric cut out and pieced together. Then I'm usually distracted by a new quilt magazine or book, or I get bored with my current project, and I'm off planning another quilt. I guess I just have a short attention span or, as my husband says, I have monkey brain. I jump from thing to thing and have difficulty staying focused on one single project. 

I don't find this distressing, although finding room for all my projects gets a bit worrisome at times. Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed by my projects-in-waiting, I just remind myself of the number of quilt businesses I support in my never-ending shopping spree for quilt items and dream about that queen size quilt.

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