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An artsy friend sent me this card last week, and
I'm stuck on it. It pushes me to think. She
would never call herself a great motivator, but
she has a way of dropping Thought Bombs
that stops me in my tracks.
Neither of us are empty nesters, but it's on our
horizons. (I'm laughing because we have 11 kids
between us. Will either of us ever be?) But we are
mentally preparing for the next season of our lives,
and it comes up in our conversations a lot. I know
many of you who visit Pink Doxies blog are
thinking this, too.
So, we ask ourselves, What's Next?
Which Road are we Taking?
How will we Know when we've Arrived?
I got back into quilting because it fit easily
into my life, and made me happy. Now I get
my color fix, make neat things, and meet the
most wonderful people through blogging.
Sounds so cozy, doesn't it? Then what?
What if I want more than that?
When we reach uncharted territory, it
gives us pause to think. The unknown can
be scary. We're now at the End of
our Comfort Zone. I've been coming up
against this for the past few months.
Where I'm At--One Place
I want to be able to create entire
quilts from start to finish no matter the size.
I'm making bigger projects now, and like this
one, they don't fit in my domestic machine
anymore--even my Janome with an 11" throat.
I felt like one thing I needed to learn
was long arm quilting. It scared me, yet I spent
a lot of time looking into it. I visited stores,
talked to friends, and even priced machines. I
tried it a few times, but the learning curve was
steep! I could do so many things on my domestic
Janome, but it didn't transfer to a long arm. It
was like riding a bike and rowing a boat--a
totally different skill set. Was it a road I wanted
to even go down? Was it worth it for me?
I have a neighbor just houses away with a
Tin Lizzie. She quilts commercially for clients,
and was kind and willing to show me her machine
the day after my phone call. She even let me
have a try at it. The next day my QST quilt was
on her machine, and I was going to quilt it
myself. She had faith in my skills when I didn't.
We drove an hour away to buy thread as she
does mainly Traditional quilts, and had nothing
in my color palette. We came home, pinned it
on, and after a few minutes we both knew the
color wasn't working. I couldn't see it enough
to follow the pattern. She happily helped me
rip out stitches for half an hour. At that point
I went home to sleep on it, but I kept waking
up wondering if she'd be upset if I just wanted
to take it out of the frame. I was panicking I
would screw it up beyond saving. I loved this
colorful quilt.
The next morning, Mother's Day, she called
to ask if I wanted to try again. I had looked
at more patterns, watched some videos,
and drawn page after page with 2 hands
on my pen moving it at the same time.
I found this pattern on a porch chair, and
thought it was easiest enough to begin.
We re-evaluated thread color, and chose a
darker color even though I would have liked
a paler one. I needed to see it! This is a
lavendar shade, and she had a matching
So Fine for the bobbin thread.
Away I went, down my first run, and by the end
I was in tears. Good tears! It was so terrifying,
and I had managed to do a passable job,
and not ruined my quilt.
You might be laughing to yourself that I'm
being overly dramatic, but you have no idea
how afraid I was of botching this. I've done
that before, and have the mess to prove it.
With the adrenaline rush going, I kept on.
Sandy helped to coach me by checking if
thing were in place after each pass, but she
stayed out of the way. I'm a good 7" taller
that she is, and I'm sure it was quite a
sight with me scootching down to run the
machine at her height adjustment.
A quick break for lunch, a minute to smell
my gorgeous Mother's Day bouquet, and I
told my husband I'd be done by 3.
When I returned, Sandy took her sewing
upstairs, and left me on my own. I managed
fine, and in my head kept saying,
"I can do this. I can do this."
It was an empowering moment for me.
My work was not perfect. Shoot, I
even ran over my design a few times
trying to see under the machine head,
but the whole quilt was done
in one day. I'm so, so pleased with a
passing job this time.
The lavendar thread was a solid choice
for the backing.
Effy had to have a quick try at it right off.
I still have the edges to quilt on my Janome.
I've chosen to use my sit down domestic
for the control it allows me, and then the
binding. All can happen this week.
I don't know if I'd ever have done this had
circumstances not been what they were.
It all fell into place when it did, and I
didn't have as much time to over-think it.
Thank you, Sandy.
Fear nearly stopped me from this uber-
thrilling adventure. I'm totally wiped out,
and have come down with a cold or
something already, and I wonder if it's
from stressing over it all.
As for my card above, I think I would
rephrase it to say,
would never call herself a great motivator, but
she has a way of dropping Thought Bombs
that stops me in my tracks.
Neither of us are empty nesters, but it's on our
horizons. (I'm laughing because we have 11 kids
between us. Will either of us ever be?) But we are
mentally preparing for the next season of our lives,
and it comes up in our conversations a lot. I know
many of you who visit Pink Doxies blog are
thinking this, too.
So, we ask ourselves, What's Next?
Which Road are we Taking?
How will we Know when we've Arrived?
I got back into quilting because it fit easily
into my life, and made me happy. Now I get
my color fix, make neat things, and meet the
most wonderful people through blogging.
Sounds so cozy, doesn't it? Then what?
What if I want more than that?
When we reach uncharted territory, it
gives us pause to think. The unknown can
be scary. We're now at the End of
our Comfort Zone. I've been coming up
against this for the past few months.
Where I'm At--One Place
I want to be able to create entire
quilts from start to finish no matter the size.
I'm making bigger projects now, and like this
one, they don't fit in my domestic machine
anymore--even my Janome with an 11" throat.
I felt like one thing I needed to learn
was long arm quilting. It scared me, yet I spent
a lot of time looking into it. I visited stores,
talked to friends, and even priced machines. I
tried it a few times, but the learning curve was
steep! I could do so many things on my domestic
Janome, but it didn't transfer to a long arm. It
was like riding a bike and rowing a boat--a
totally different skill set. Was it a road I wanted
to even go down? Was it worth it for me?
Tin Lizzie. She quilts commercially for clients,
and was kind and willing to show me her machine
the day after my phone call. She even let me
have a try at it. The next day my QST quilt was
on her machine, and I was going to quilt it
myself. She had faith in my skills when I didn't.
We drove an hour away to buy thread as she
does mainly Traditional quilts, and had nothing
in my color palette. We came home, pinned it
on, and after a few minutes we both knew the
color wasn't working. I couldn't see it enough
to follow the pattern. She happily helped me
rip out stitches for half an hour. At that point
I went home to sleep on it, but I kept waking
up wondering if she'd be upset if I just wanted
to take it out of the frame. I was panicking I
would screw it up beyond saving. I loved this
colorful quilt.
The next morning, Mother's Day, she called
to ask if I wanted to try again. I had looked
at more patterns, watched some videos,
and drawn page after page with 2 hands
on my pen moving it at the same time.
I found this pattern on a porch chair, and
thought it was easiest enough to begin.
We re-evaluated thread color, and chose a
darker color even though I would have liked
a paler one. I needed to see it! This is a
lavendar shade, and she had a matching
So Fine for the bobbin thread.
Away I went, down my first run, and by the end
I was in tears. Good tears! It was so terrifying,
and I had managed to do a passable job,
and not ruined my quilt.
You might be laughing to yourself that I'm
being overly dramatic, but you have no idea
how afraid I was of botching this. I've done
that before, and have the mess to prove it.
With the adrenaline rush going, I kept on.
Sandy helped to coach me by checking if
thing were in place after each pass, but she
stayed out of the way. I'm a good 7" taller
that she is, and I'm sure it was quite a
sight with me scootching down to run the
machine at her height adjustment.
A quick break for lunch, a minute to smell
my gorgeous Mother's Day bouquet, and I
told my husband I'd be done by 3.
When I returned, Sandy took her sewing
upstairs, and left me on my own. I managed
fine, and in my head kept saying,
"I can do this. I can do this."
It was an empowering moment for me.
My work was not perfect. Shoot, I
even ran over my design a few times
trying to see under the machine head,
but the whole quilt was done
in one day. I'm so, so pleased with a
passing job this time.
The lavendar thread was a solid choice
for the backing.
Effy had to have a quick try at it right off.
I still have the edges to quilt on my Janome.
I've chosen to use my sit down domestic
for the control it allows me, and then the
binding. All can happen this week.
I don't know if I'd ever have done this had
circumstances not been what they were.
It all fell into place when it did, and I
didn't have as much time to over-think it.
Thank you, Sandy.
Fear nearly stopped me from this uber-
thrilling adventure. I'm totally wiped out,
and have come down with a cold or
something already, and I wonder if it's
from stressing over it all.
As for my card above, I think I would
rephrase it to say,
"Growth begins at the end
of your comfort zone."
of your comfort zone."
Gardeners who start seedlings know it helps
to brush your hand across them once a day.
You're simulating nature brushing by them. It
makes the whole stem structure healthier,
I understand, when the seedling pushes
back against the stimulus. In turn, it
causes it to grow stronger.
As for the biggest questions I have
above, I still don't know. Perhaps
I never will. My answer for today
is simple.
Let me grow.
Come on, Doxie girls.
Let's all go sew.
Linking up today with~
Freemotion by the River
Quilt Story
Blossom Heart Quilts
Late Night Quilter
She Can Quilt
Cooking Up Quilts
Monday Makers
Show and Tell with Bambi
Hug-a-Bit Quilts
to brush your hand across them once a day.
You're simulating nature brushing by them. It
makes the whole stem structure healthier,
I understand, when the seedling pushes
back against the stimulus. In turn, it
causes it to grow stronger.
As for the biggest questions I have
above, I still don't know. Perhaps
I never will. My answer for today
is simple.
Let me grow.
Come on, Doxie girls.
Let's all go sew.
Linking up today with~
Freemotion by the River
Quilt Story
Blossom Heart Quilts
Late Night Quilter
She Can Quilt
Cooking Up Quilts
Monday Makers
Show and Tell with Bambi
Hug-a-Bit Quilts
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