Quilting Quirks

Sewing and quilting gives me a lot of time to think. Most of the time it's about all the other stuff on my  "To-Do" list, or duties around the house that are being neglected because I would rather sew, but anyway... I was thinking the other night about all the little nuances that quilters have. 

Here is my list...Because quilter's have lists. 

1. Scraps. I save them. They are kind of, sort of, sometimes when I clean out the jars, organized. Not by color. I have a bag for selvedges, a bag for white, a bag for discarded triangles from Half Square Triangles (you know what I'm talking about) and then a bag of "others." Quilters save scraps. You never know when a project will come around that you need that piece for, and you can always go to the bin to create something. 

Now the saving of scraps isn't necessarily odd, but the crazy part of this habit lies in the size of the scraps. How small is too small? Where do you draw your line in the sand when it comes to discarding scraps? For me, it's hard. Really hard. I'm a fabric hoarder by nature, so it's in my blood to save. it. all. Pack rats for life, right? The stripe material is the smallest one I have right now. It measures 1" by 2.5" - And I always save the selvedges. There is a Pinterest idea that involves Toms and selvedges. A match made in heaven...Yes!

2. Cutters gonna Cut. Sort of. I started using a new Olfa rotary cutter in August. It's cut at least 5 quilt tops, and 7 zipper bags, and various other projects. The blade needed to be replaced. Reluctantly, I busted out my new aqua cutter with the new blade. Why was I reluctant to change the stupid blade? And I'm not the only one. Seriously. What is it about a dull blade that we hang on to for dear life? Are we desperately trying to get every last ounce of cutting ability out of the blade before we deem it worthy of being thrown away? I have no clue. But let me tell you, that brand new blade cuts like. butter. What was I thinking?

3. Quilter's ADD. True Story. We all suffer. We can be in the middle of a project going strong, when all of a sudden a fabric, a pattern, a quilt along, an idea, a swap....something zaps our attention from one project and throws us head first into another. Don't believe me? Ask any sewing or quilter how many projects they are working on? How many "Works In Progress" they have? I have three four major ones right now, some have 10 or 20. It's the creative mind at it's best. We live to create, we create to live, and our minds are never without an idea or something we want to do or try. Which leads me to #4.

4. The Quilt List. THE list. The one that holds all the quilts we want to make. There was a picture that floated around Instagram a few months ago, "Must Make All the Quilts." It's true. My phone is filled with screen shots of quilts I. MUST. MAKE. I can probably add 10 more to my list, if I just go through my picture log. It's the constant need to create that drives the list. The sense of accomplishment, and the fact that in the end you get something really beautiful out of it.

5. Fabric. Yes, we must have it. And no, there will never be a moment when I will think I have "enough." Refer to the list in #4. There will always be quilts to make, and fabric to be bought. Don't ask my husband about this. He thinks I need a Fabric Hoarders Anonymous group.

6. The Gift of Giving. I have made myself...Zero quilts. Seriously. I don't really count the one for my son as one for myself. Every quilt I have made goes to someone else. But I LOVE that. I love giving. I love choosing the fabric and pattern I think fits that person, giving my time and energy and love to each quilt, and then gifting it away. I've only ever sold one quilt. All the others were gifts. I think it's a blessing to use a talent like this to give to others. My goal for the next year is to gift some blankets to the NICU units in some children's hospitals. Or to some nursing homes. What a great lesson to teach our kids, using our gifts and talents to help serve others.