Quilt Update

As my dear friend Mel B (not of Spice Girls fame) moved across the country a couple of years ago, she brought me her grandmother's sewing machine as she came through town. It has been a treasure to learn and practice sewing without having to make an investment in a sewing machine. After all, I wasn't sure if I would even like sewing. This is a Sears Kenmore sewing machine in a cabinet. I have no idea how old it is, but it is made almost entirely of metal. Unfortunately, they don't make machines like this anymore. I consider this machine to be on loan to me. Anytime Mel wants this back, it is hers. We'll just have to figure out how to get it from one place to another.

While working on this quilt, I have had some frustrating issues...probably from my inexperience, but I like to blame it on the machine. Because of these issues, I didn't work on this for several days. I just couldn't talk myself into it. I think that I have found a way around the issues I was having though and have come to enjoy working on it again. This is going to take me a long time!

This is all I have finished so far. This is not a traditional quilt. When I hear the word "quilt", I think of patchwork quilts. The pieces of this quilt are appliqued to the base of brown material. They are appliqued using a zig-zag stitch. I have read that many quilters feel the imperfections are what makes a quilt so unique and fun. If that is the case, this may be the most unique and fun quilt ever. I'm not sure if it is me or the machine, but the zig-zag stitches have not been consistent. Even though I have not changed the settings, the stitching on the different blocks looks different. I realize these are not very good pictures, but I couldn't figure out the best way to get a picture. This quilt, if completed to its current size, will just barely cover the top of a queen size bed. I have so much farther to go.

So far, it has been a mostly fun process. It is just a bit overwhelming at times.