Part 3: Annual Report on Charity Quilting

Stephen Covey called it sharpening the saw. I think that’s a fair image of how Judi and I will start 2021.

Judi is at the sewing machine almost every night, usually sewing for the benefit of someone she will never meet. That’s just how she rolls. This fall we purchased a commercial sewing machine that has improved the efficiency of her work.

We’ve been in the new house for almost six months and have a better sense of how we’ll use the space. We have decided to turn the room in which she is set up into a dedicated sewing studio. That will require getting rid of a sofa sleeper, constructing a cutting table, installing a design wall, among other adjustments.

I designed a quilting pattern that is fast and easy to use. Fast and easy are the operative terms. We use this pattern on almost every charity quilt and the number of completed quilts in 2020 increased because of the speed of the quilting. This pattern is what is called edge-to-edge (e2e)–set the machine on the left edge of the quilt and let the computer guide the quilting machine to the right edge. There’s a whole lot more to longarm quilting beyond e2e for which I’ve barely scratched the surface.

As we begin 2021, I’m going to slow down long enough to learn a few more skills. I have a quilt top that I made five years ago on which I’ve wanted to do some custom quilting–a different quilting pattern for each unit on the quilt top. Custom quilting involves lots of starts and stops, so it takes time. In the next few weeks, I’ll do the quilt that has for years been sitting under the longarm frame.

I’ve also wanted to try whole-cloth quilting. Rather than piecing a quilt top, you put yardage on the quilting machine and stitch in the design. The visual interest is only in the stitching, not the piecing AND the stitching. I’ll work out a whole-cloth pattern for a crib-size quilt and likely donate the quilt to Project Linus.

A subset of whole-cloth quilting involves a printed panel that is quilted to bring out the features of the printed design. I have two of the Dream Big floral panels (about 42 inches square). I’m pretty sure I will take the plunge and quilt it (click on the photo to see the detail). The first one may be for practice, but at least the second one will likely hang on the wall of the stairway going down to the quilting studio.

Another aspect of sharpening the saw for me will involve further study in the elements (line, shape, color, texture, etc.) and principles (balance, emphasis, scale, repetition, contrast, etc.) of design. This work will contribute to better design for both quilt tops and quilting patterns.

Out of the hundreds of quilts we’ve made over the years, only one is in our house. The queen-sized quilt on our guest room bed was, in fact, motivation to purchase the longarm machine. I designed it, Judi pieced it, and we needed to finish it, so we purchased the longarm quilting machine. Quite a while ago we purchased a fabric set we liked–Lorikeet by Hoffman. Judi finished the quilt top a few weeks ago. I will quilt it soon. Hmmm, maybe this warrants custom quilting, too. This quilt will go on our bed.

From some perspectives, 2020 was a bust. But then she says, you ain’t gonna. Judi and I found a way to redeem the mandated stay-at-home days. And 213 kids have been pulled into a comforting quilt hug provided by the beloved community in which we live. Now Judi and I sharpen the saw so as to better be able to continue the meaningful work in 2021.