A Little Charity Quilting

Happy National Quilting Day.

A couple weeks ago, I was asked to do the quilting on
an auction project.  I hesitated.  Do I have time?  Do I want
to start this quilting-for-others thing?  I guess charity
will always be a soft spot for me.  Of course, I said yes.


It turned out to be just a lap quilt and, as it was made by a
4-H youth group, they insisted that it did not need to be perfect.
The busy fabrics also made me more comfortable.  I had a great
pantograph pattern for it.  It looked easy and I have been
wanting to try it out anyway, especially since I'll be using
it on my own charity project here in a couple months.


I was right--I picked it up immediately.  In fact,
I'm ranking this the easiest pattern of my collection.
Perfect for a beginner.

The quilting-time difference between a lap and a queen quilt
 seems more like that of a baby quilt and a king size so I think
that will probably be one of those things I keep in mind for
doing any work for others in the future:  lap quilts only??


I have always struggled with telling others "no."  I am glad I took
this on; it was fun. But it does bring to mind that I probably need
to set some personal rules.  Currently, I allow a sister and one friend
to use my machine but I need to ask:  where do I draw the line?
I really want to encourage quilting with friends but I think
there's always a chance for that to get out of control.


I don't feel comfortable charging for the use of my LA but in the
end, wear and tear, needles, thread...they can add up. I recently
had to tell another friend no because the machine just wasn't
available but I do think I will let her use it occasionally in the
future.  Maybe the best thing to do will be to have a teaching
session when I have another quilt on it...and more time.

The sun is shining and the lure of the outdoors might be
strong but I do still want to work on those log cabin blocks.
I have also promised my son authentic gumbo for his birthday
dinner.  I've never made it but it's always looked fun.  I
 struggled to find some ingredients but I figure that's what I get
for raising my kids to have adventurous palates!  Tomorrow
of course I'll be making Irish food--something I do throughout
the month of March anyway but definitely on St. Pat's!
Happy quilting!




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