THOUGHTS OF A WANNA BE QUILTER

OK, well it's Wednesday already and time for a post I guess.  My thoughts have been in such a jumble these last couple of days, I am thinking it might be better to just put the lap top down and step away from it all for a while, haha.

I think I might have mentioned a time or two (sorry) that I have been filling my head with a lot of quilting thoughts recently.  From browsing the internet looking for ideas, (easy ones that is) to watching countless tutorials, to gazing and drooling over the most beautiful creations ever seen, to just reading other quilters thoughts and stories, even a totally fictional novel about it...you name it, I've been on it.  I have been to two WONDERFUL quilt stores where I hobbled walked around hoping for the day I would REALLY be a part of it all and not just a dreamer or a wanna be.  I have even bought some fabric, and by carefully copying a tutorial managed to create a VERY EASY quilt top.  So I made another one with different colors.  And while they are OK, I do see a thing or two about them that are not perfect.  (not laying flat enough...a point. off by a fraction of an inch etc. ~ still working on my perfectionist issues) And of course I am WELL aware that a quilt TOP does NOT make a quilt.  They still have to be layered, quilted, and finished...sigh.  But! Then I convince myself there is only one way to learn and that is at the beginning.  Step by step.  I have to make mistakes (and yes live with a few sometimes) to learn, and just like everything else in this life, learn to crawl before you walk, and walk before you run. It is what it is.  But meanwhile, I have been feeling a little discouraged with it all.  So I decided OK, Deb, let's try something with a little more a challenge to it.  Sooo, after countless hours of searching, I decided on a simple (yet I knew for me a little more work) Christmas tree created with tiny squares of varying sizes instead of just a big piece cut from a template.  I had plenty of scraps to put to use and got started.  OH..MY...GOODNESS...My admiration for REAL quilters went through the roof with this simple little tree.  Oh soo fiddly.  And if you read my blog at all you know I am NO fan of the "fiddly". I struggled and struggled with it.  From the what must be PERFECTLY precise cutting of the squares, to the arranging of them in the RIGHT way, to the CAREFUL stitching that MUST be perfect for the angles, to the realization of some facts about myself that I guess I had either forgotten or had repressed, lol.  And some of those are....I LOVE quick, easy, and just what I call somewhat mindless sewing. Soo relaxing to me. DEFINITELY not slow, precise, and requiring my constant mental concentration, which is somewhat stressful to me.  I need to able how to figure out how something is done BEFORE I even begin it, not see it come together as I go.  And yet!  I want to do this.  So I am pressing on.  I am not going to dwell (I may have to stop looking) that I am soo far from creating a stunning heirloom quilt that it isn't even funny, and it may NEVER happen.  And for now I am not even going to touch the subject if this is something that is occupying TOO much of my thought process right now.  I seem to need this for some reason or another.  Sooo after ALL of this, let me show you my tree!!  Now this particular table runner will have 3 of the blocks, so I still have 2 more to go. Meanwhile I have a nail appointment this morning and then lunch with my close girlfriend.  Does my life sound as unimportant and/or frivolous as it does to me sometimes?  Since my days of caring for mom have ended, I am again wondering if it's OK to just fill my days with such trivial pursuits, or should I be looking for something more?  Told you...my head is everywhere.  Hope you all have a good day! Blessings to you all, Debbie

LOOKS LIKE NO BIG DEAL HUH?  HAHA  NOT TOTALLY STRAIGHT EITHER

STEP 2...THEN YOU ADD THE TREE BLOCKS TO EITHER SIDE....I THINK I AM EITHER GOING WITH A DIFFERENT COLOR ON THE STAR, OR NO STAR AT ALL?