Free-Motion Jitters

Bump, bump, bump, another WIP bites the dust!

This quilt top was intended for the first child of a far-distant niece. I initially thought the colors would work for a boy or a girl. When my niece learned Joel would be the newest addition to our extended family, I decided this top was just a bit too feminine for a baby boy. I made another top just like it, only in blues, and I wonkily quilted the storm at sea pattern into the squares and rectangles. (Apparently, wonkily is not a recognized word, but if it gets used enough, perhaps it will be added to the dictionary. Ha ha!)


Joel's and Esca's quilts (shown above), were the fourth and fifth in my attempt to make a quilt for my grandchild and each of my still-young nieces and nephews and all my grand nieces and nephews by Christmas. My husband's (only) nephew Andrew was the first person in both our families to receive a handmade quilt from me one year ago when he got married. Kathy's and Maddie's quilts, below, solidified my family quilting goal and were finished early this year.




I'll be seeing eight more far-distant nieces, grand nieces and a nephew this month, so the crunch was on. Finish eight quilts before Thanksgiving unless I want to mail eight quilts, plus presents for my mom and dad. With postage prices these days -- UGH!

My husband helped my a couple of weeks ago by crafting a rag quilt for the nephew because nothing in my WIP list seemed suitable for a martial arts-loving boy. This quilt was made entirely of scraps from when my own kids were very small, plus leftovers from one bandanna I made for The Lizard a few years ago. Oh, how my son loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mario Brothers when he was just a little tyke!


I'm finally growing close to my Thanksgiving goal! After finishing Faded Gems, I need to finish only two more WIPs by Thanksgiving! Thank goodness! I was getting pretty worried! Unfortunately, I still need to finish three more quilts after that by Christmas. Not sure that's doable, but I'll give it my best shot.


I decided to use the storm at sea quilting again, only this time not wonky, to see if I like it better than wonky. Finishing answered the question: YES!!! I'm not sure I'll do any more wonky quilting. Although it was fun to try just one time, I don't think I like wonky as much as clean geometric lines. I really love the way the back of this quilt (made with my own snow-dyed fabric from last winter, plus a jelly roll strip left over from the quilt top) looks. I love the storm at sea design enough to use it again in another quilt one day.


The entire time I was quilting this project, I had the feeling this one will go to my sister's youngest grandchild. I intend to let the nieces pick which quilt they like best, but for some reason, perhaps because this was intended to be a baby quilt and it's the only one in the Thanksgiving batch so far that looks like a baby quilt, I've felt this one would go to the now two-year-old baby. My sister didn't live to see her grandchildren, so all three are pretty special to our entire family.

While I was quilting this one, my back began giving me trouble, and my will to keep going waned slightly. "Why do you keep putting these unrealistic goals on yourself?" I asked myself out loud. "Why do you keep stretching yourself to the limit?"

I internally felt my sister cheering me on, encouraging me to keep going. Memories of her telling me to keep going made me smile and help me get going again, chuckling as I stitched because pastels were never her style. She was a hot pink and black heavy metal type of girl.

I believe even though she didn't get to see her granddaughters here on earth, she's keeping an eye on them. I felt the distinct impression she responded, "No, it's not my favorite, but Lucy's going to love it."

That made me love this quilt all the more.












Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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