Birth Annnouncement-The Family is Growing

The dogs joined me in the garden for a quiet breakfast. It was a foggy morning, slow to start, but the mosquitoes were already fierce even with my candles and coils. I was looking
for a few minutes to sit and think about "things". Do we all have confidence issues when we start something new? A little bit, I think, no matter who we are. Who would be interested in reading a blog about a quilting journey, or would this be too mundane? Who would be my audience, if any? And, just exactly what would be my purpose here?

The mosquitos were ramping up so I made some quick decisions before going in. I decided that surely someone out there would be interested. I meet a lot of quilters, and they are an amazing variety of people. They smile. They have opinions. They love to talk about quilting, and they speak a common language. They're my lost tribe, and I don't care if they're young or old, women or men. I have people, and this will be here if they want to read it. We can both share this experience.

As far as my role here, I intend to spread the Secret  Thrill of Quilting. I will talk with those who have quilted for years, and continue despite arthritic fingers, and take their message to the young who have not yet discovered what the Secret is. We will add one more at a time. We can talk about piecing, color theory, local shops, patterns, products, and all the other tangible subjects we like associated with quilting. It's all good. But the Secret for me, and maybe for you, is something that happens along the way while we're learning.

Hopefully. it goes without saying that quilting is a non-competitive sport. You jump in where are, and start with a project. You finish and move to the next, and by the end have realized you're getting better. And soon past that, remarkably improved! This is fun! Hey, want to see what I just made? One day you'll start thinking about a project that's a little like something you've seen, but you think there's a way to tweak it and make it more your own taste. You will borrow ideas, or copy what you think looks good already with fabric from your stash.You'll lay it all out, stand back, and go "Wow! I just love that!" It is the most amazing high out there, in my opinion. If you are seeking Joy, it can be found in fabric and thread.

I'm definitely looking for wow right now in my work, and I'm a color junkie. This is a quilt I've been working on patterned after the quilt on the cover of "Sunday Morning Quilts" by Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison. Love, love, love their book. It's full of inspiration.

My doxies have headed for bed already, so good night.