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Emotional Benefits Of
Quilting
Or
Overcoming Mental Block by Making Two Applique
Quilts.
I've never been one for making New Years'
resolutions, but I did make one at the end of
2006. I was determined to get over my fear of
using applique in my quilts. It was actually
more of a challenge put to me by my daughter,
Amanda. She told me that all of my quilts
looked the same. Puzzled, I asked her what she
meant. She nonchalantly said they're all
geometric shaped (this coming from a 20-year
old non-quilter). Okay, I admit my feelings
were hurt (nowhere did she say how gorgeous my
quilts were) and, yes, my quilts are made up of
squares, rectangles, diamonds (what's wrong
with that?). I've always been a traditional
quilter, never venturing into the art of thread
painting, applique or landscape.
But my daughter's comment
got me thinking about "stepping outside of my
box". I had tried applique before, but found it
confusing and frustrating -- rough edge, needle
turn, freezer paper, P3, fusible, etc. The
numerous methods left me with a mental
block.
So I decided to make two
applique quilts in 2007. I've started one using
the rough edge fusible method (with blanket
stitch) and Steam-a-Seam 2. I saw this product
demonstrated at the 2004 Houston show, and it
looked fantastic, but the two sticky sides
confuse me. I just want a simple, easy
method.
The other applique quilt I will attempt is
Verna Mosquera's "Vintage Valentine". As of
this writing, I haven't decided which method to
use. Of course I love the needle turn look, but
that entails hand stitching (which I dread). My
clients say that binding their quilts by hand
relaxes them. I'd much rather organize a
client's messy sewing room than to sit down and
hand stitch my own quilts.
The "Vintage Valentine" will
be a Block of the Month Club made up of my good
quilting friends (the same ones I went to
Houston with in 2004). I know they rolled their
eyes and snickered when I announced I was
determined to make this quilt with them. I
started out in the same Block of the Month Club
last year making Verna Mosquera's "Enchanted
Autumn" applique quilt. I never even got the
first block made . . . another UFO due to the
applique mental block.
Linda Griffith, owner of The
Organized Option, is a Professional Organizer
& Speaker based in Phoenix. The creator of
the Messiest Sewing Room ContestTM, Linda has
helped dozens of sewers, crafters and
home-based business owners to achieve a
clutter-free, efficient work area and regain
their lost energy. A national speaker, Linda's
presentations blend practical how-to organizing
tips with motivation and humor. She's also a
regular columnist in the international
publication, The Country Register. Linda can be
reached at 480-755-3991, or through her
website, http://www.organizedoption.com
where you can sign up for her free monthly
e-newsletter.
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