Hand Quilt Along ~ December

It is impossible that 3 weeks has passed since our last posting for the HQAL. December is in full swing, the lights of Hanukkah have been kindled, latkes made, and as I anxiously await Christmas and all its festivities, my quilt ‘Wishing You Good Will’ reminds me to truly be mindful of wishing you all good will, health and happiness all year through.

‘Wishing You Good Will’ is forever in the debt of this HQAL as it was what inspired me to pick her up and begin quilting her. I had found her at our local goodwill store – lonely, scared and tossed aside. I brought her home and tucked her away for a few more years until my discovery of this group.

I joined in January of 2018 after learning discovering it through Kerry at

https://lovethosehandsathome.wordpress.com

How I found Kerry’s blog, I simply can not remember but thankfully I did.

It was back in the 70’s that I began hand quilting, taught by 2 amazing woman from Oklahoma… mentors long passed but never forgotten. There was this enormous hand made quilting frame hanging from the ceiling taking up most of the living room. I had never seen anything like this before. Sister-in-law’s Alma Ayres and Wynotha Wall were busy hand quilting something. One look and I was hooked.

My first quilt was done in my own made up pattern, hand pieced in dotted swiss material. Alma donated the material to me. Still today, I think she must have given me the material on purpose. Oh goodness, if stitching through or around those dots didn’t deter me nothing would. I am sure it was a test to see if I could truly walk the talk. I can picture Wynotha and Alma secretly chuckling over giving me the swiss as my first project.

I have never used a machine, (although I did have my first 2 quilts professionally machine quilted, Alma must have felt sorry for me, thinking quilting them would be to big of a challenge) I still have no fancy tools, in fact I bought my first rotary cutter a week or so ago, I am back to scissors, I still cut out patterns from a heavy paper template I measure and make myself, I don’t know what BOM stands for, I had to look up what Fat Quarters were, WIP meant nothing to me, and stitching in ditch – what?

Hand Quilting has taken me from my 20’s into my 60’s now, an incredible journey that has taught me many life lessons, things like: patience, beauty is not always in perfection, organization, starting over doesn’t mean it was a mistake it means making it better, thinking things through before jumping in, don’t give up till you figure it out…I could go on but I know you get it.

When I look at Wishing You Good Will – this wedding ring beauty – its center four squares  represents my parents with me and my husband, its rings all the paths in my life branching off into their specific nucleus, my children, their families branching off on their life’s paths. Quilting is an amazing life journey.

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to all the amazing quilters/crafters I have met through this hand quilt along. Thank for an amazing year of encouragement, growth and education.

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This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Lori, Margaret, Kerry, Emma, Tracy, Deb, Connie, Susan,  Nanette, Sassy , Edith, Sharon, Karrin, and Gretchen