I often ask myself. It can be very (a little bit) stressful, but there is great satisfaction in designing and then creating (and making) something beautiful for someone you love (and care about). Each tiny stitch (you make becomes part of a beautiful whole), as they see (and feel)WILL BE THERE LONG AFTER i AM GONE.My stitches will remind them that they are a special person, (especially to me.) Their quilt was with lots of love!

I also remember that part of the fun of designing, creating and making a quilt…. starts with shopping. There are so many beautiful and fun fabrics available today, ( from an unlimited number of wholesalers and retailers.) i let my imagination run wild as I match fabric designs and colors together, (complimenting each other, and creating a magnified, magnificent whole.) i very much enjoy developing my creative eye! While shopping for fabric, I take into consideration the persons age, likes and dislikes, his hobbies and interests. For example , is the quilt for a baby, for a young child? Is the quilt for a grandma who loves flowers? Or for a grand pa who loves to go fishing? Or is the quilt for a grandson who loves and plays football, or a granddaughter who loves everything about, and loves to ride horses. i also shop in my stash! there i find fun and beautiful fabric that I forgot I had. i”ts almost like Christmas! It’s really fun when sharing my stash with that special person, they find something that they really like. We ooo and ahh, and laugh a lot. We love it! This process brings me to the realization that friends and family who stitch together, seldom unravel.

I keep reminding myself that the only rules to effective quilting, are my own. So, don’t stress over what someone else might think, or might say, because rules are mine. now, keep in mind, that there are some rules to quilting that you can’t ignore, like cutting and sewing straight, or matching seems, and squaring the block and the quilt. If you don’t follow these few rules of quilting, your quilt will end up skiwampus.

I have been told, that quilting can be very therapeutic. When repeating the same motion or action over and over again, your stress level subsides, your anxiety level diminishes. It can actually lower your blood pressure and slow down and calm your heart rate When this happens, your serotonin level rises, and my brain needs all the help it can get.

So when I make a mistake, I don’t stress over it. I learn from my mistakes and only beat myself up for 1 minute, Then I move forward and figure out a solution to the problem I just created. What if I cut my fabric wrong and now I don’t have enough fabric?
Ask me how I know….I’m sure you can guess. What if I sewed my directional fabric upside down? Ask me how I know. I have to unpick my beautiful stitches, and then sew new beautiful stitches to replace them.

I am so happy when it all comes together. The heart of a quilt is LOVE! The gladness of a quilt is JOY. And the LOVE of a quilt brings PEACE to the SOUL.