Hand Stitched

For those of you that can remember that far back, I started working on a hexagon quilt top two years ago, sewing each new piece to the blanket by hand in an insane attempt to keep myself occupied while we waited on our house to be built. I’d work on it, and then I wouldn’t, and then I’d work on it, and then I wouldn’t….it became a cycle, and that quilt top would stare at me every time I opened the door to the craft closet I keep my stuff in.

A few weeks ago, I got serious about the damn thing and finished it.

That picture doesn’t have ALL of the hexagons; I went in and filled in the gaps on the edges with white hexagons, but have yet to get a completed picture of it. So now the top is done, and I’ve discovered that I’m absolutely terrified to quilt the damn thing. I can’t find a quilting pattern than I like; straight lines won’t do all of that work justice, but I’m a crappy free motion quilter, and I just don’t want to screw up all of that work. I’m considering sending it out to be quilted, but that doesn’t feel right, either. I think I’ll let it marinate for a while until inspiration strikes. Or I just throw caution to the wind and quilt it myself.

It’s an accomplishment to hand stitch each and every one of those into a quilt, no matter how small or large; hand sewing isn’t something that is popular in our culture, although for centuries that’s how clothing and blankets were made. I’m already considering a second one, though, because I find that I actually miss my box of hexagons. I went on a rampage through my ridiculous scrap bin last week and took everything that was about 2.5″ and cut it into squares for use in various projects; larger chunks are still floating around in there, but I feel a little better about the monster that was growing in my scrap basket. So I’m all set for a new round of crazy looks from friends and family while I happily put together another quilt top.