Stitches in Play

quilt rehash

The following is a rehash of a post I wrote more than four years ago. All of these quilts, along with several others, have been sitting on a shelf in my sewing room for nearly eight years.  Last year we moved into a new, smaller home in which I have no designated sewing space and definitely no room to store things I don't love.  Yesterday I threw all these quilts on the couch and took a good look at them for the first time in many years.  And the verdict remains - I still don't like them because I truly dislike all of my color choices and I don't like the look of the hand dyed fabric I worked so hard to create.  However, I am so very grateful that I made these quilts and I am thankful for all that I learned while making them and I love that sewing these has led me to this space and all the pleasure it has brought me over the years.  More after the photos....













In making these quilts - and several others - I learned how to dye fabric, how to cut fabric with a rotary cutter and how to piece using a quarter-inch seam allowance.  I learned how to use a walking foot, how to free motion quilt, how to bind a quilt and how to make a hanging sleeve. 

In researching how to do the above I was introduced to blogs for the very first time.  This led me to start my own blog, cultivate amazing blog friendships, and learn to take photographs -which is often my favorite part of blogging.

Because of these quilts - that I truly do not care for - I have a creative outlet, I have a community, I have been able to remain sane all these years! 

Because of these 'art' quilts I have been able to learn so much about myself and what I like. I learned how to choose fabrics and colors that make me happy, how to create quilts I love for my home and my family and, at times, I've been able to share that knowledge with you. 

These quilts have led me to a beautiful and creative path - and for that I love them.

spring break 2013

We spent a week at the beach.  It was cold and windy but the sun came out most days and we had the best time ever.  All three kiddos are already looking forward to renting the same house next year.

I mainly took photos at the beach but we also spent a lot of time eating out and cooking in (why is it more fun to make pancakes for breakfast in someone else's house?).  The house we rented had a pool table and we played a lot of pool.  We took a four wheel drive tour to see the island's wild horses and we took lots of bubble baths.  I read a lot.  We ate the yummiest hot maple & chocolate donuts here. And we took walks - lots and lots of walks each day along the beach.  But most of all we made new memories and shared new experiences.  For many years I underestimated the importance of time away from home for our family.  But there's something about being away that makes every single member of our family breathe deeper, step lighter, require less stuff (hardly anything really) and forget to bicker.  Maybe it was the daily ice cream sundaes we made with tons of strawberries and whipped cream.....hmmm.

Finally, I'd like to share a bit about how my views on editing down the number of photos I take has changed recently. For the past several years I have been editing my photos down in number quite a bit - I have been deleting what appear to be duplicates, photos in which one of us looks unhappy, photos that are not perfectly clear, photos of the kiddos doing like things....How many photos do I need of my kiddos sliding down a sand hill anyway?  Well it turns out I need lots.  Ever since I started organizing and documenting my photos with project life I have realized that I had forgotten so many of the fun things that we've done and most of the places we've visited over the years - really!  And I need lots and lots of photos to truly remember. So while I will continue to edit down my clothes, books, and stuff to solely what I need and use I will no longer do the same with my photos.  From now on I will keep the imperfect, the similar, the blurry because I want to be able to recall ALL of our moments - not just the ones I deemed "good photos" at the time.

Do you edit down your photos a lot?  How do you decide what to keep or delete?  Do you ever feel it's those blurry, imperfect shots you may miss the most?