Completion

These were the last stitches of the t-shirt quilt.  It's done.  Done. Done. Done.

I hand-stitched the finishing of the binding and corners.  Mostly because the red bits were a stretch at many points.  There was enough of the white bits to finish by machine, but I wanted a bit more of an even look.

There is something very satisfying about finishing up by hand.  I was very connected to the last stitches.  It became very rhythmic and almost meditative.  It also was a bit tough on the fingers.

There were a few stretches over bulky seams and last minute fixes where layers escaped the initial zigzag stitch, but all in all, I think a success.

Last minute patchwork extensions put in place weeks, months, ago turned out to be almost useless.

As I stitched along, I thought about the process of this quilt.  I thought about the euphoria and serendipity of those first three blocks. I thought about the frustrations of figuring out the back bit.  I thought about how it the materials transformed from articles rich in memories to pieces of fabric to be manipulated.  From the obsessive mania of those days when I sewed for 10 hours to the days when I forced myself to finish.

It's been quite a journey of improvisation and learning.  Finding pieces to fit where needed, working with what is on hand. I admit I am nervous to move on to something with a more defined pattern and planning.  Maybe I will continue with the haphazard method of following my gut and piecing here and there.  I don't know.

I will continue using second-hand materials.  There is something wonderful about using bits which already had a life of use.  I'm sure they present issues in themselves of being wonky cut and never crisply folded or ironed, but I love them.


Yesterday I went to a remnants sale at an upholstery/fabric store and came out with an armful of scraps.

my half of the haul

I split the pile with my neighbour who wants to learn to sew and we will work through a couple of throw pillows and maybe some simple quilting.  Maybe a bit of practice in patterns before starting on the next big project.