Yes, it’s true, I’m guilty of a QWM- quilting while mothering!! It’s something I don’t recommend trying.
I’ve learned my lesson- don’t try to quilt your quilting lines while you have your sweet little two year old…..
asking you 20 questions, wanting to play “horsey”, waiting to make banana nut muffins, etc.:-) Some very talented quilters may be able to pull this off successfully and I have had a few victorious moments like that, but it didn’t work so well with this latest quilt!
It all started out innocently enough. She was napping when I decided to go for it and try to baste this quilt.
That process went really well. Smooth as silk; the girls didn’t run over with their baby stroller a single time, quite a feat since I had to leave there to finish it in stages, a day or two…..whew!!!
I only had to take a few breaks, with the big girls,
to build a block town or help with a quick puzzle. Those are welcome breaks when I’m basting!! Enough about the kiddos, on to quilting.
So I had all these great ideas for quilting lines; doing some giant off- set arc shape coming up from the corner, or possibly following the angle of the main strips like I saw on one of Alissa’s latest quilts. What was I thinking? I just needed to get this one done and frankly didn’t have the brain power, at the time, to pull off that type of involved quilting design. Oh, “I’ll just straight line quilt it”, I say. Put on that walking foot and easy peasy-done!! Right? uuhh, not so much!!!!
The walking foot can almost make your quilting effortless, but if you have any kind of pattern or line design you want to create, you do have to have your concentration “game on”. Again, hard for me to do with Miss N standing next to me and leaning on my quilting leg. I know, I know, just walk away right? Well finally I did give up, but that was after I had created a line pattern that was completely random, not what I had envisioned, and perhaps not so aesthetically pleasing.
So at that point I just decided it is what it is and I need to continue and just get this quilt done; I had come too far to not finish it. I mean if I tried to wait for child-free moments to quilt, I’d never see a finished quilt. The big girls have come to know that mamma needs to create to stay sane, little Miss N is beginning to realize this however has a ways to go before she fully gets it. It’s all good though….
This quilt is the sort of, sampler platter of quilting line widths! I’m hoping for a decent finished product, and after all it’s only a quilt. I love em’ but let’s face it, they don’t compare in my household to this little bundle……
And for those of you feeling sorry for her, don’t you worry, she got to help mamma make those banana nut muffins after all, and loved every minute of it– as did I. I’ll take a random, so-so quilt any day for my little Miss N.
I am impressed! Getting any sewing done with a 2 year old is quite a feat! I have twin 2.5 year olds… and I know exactly what you mean. I have contaminated getting them a train table for the play room/sewing room, but I don’t think that would keep their attention long enough for me to get anything done. Plus now with a newborn… well, there goes any quilty time I can think of. I like the randomness of your lines! I still think it looks amazing! Great job!
Thank you! I think if I had twins I may not even attempt it. Hats off you you for trying and congrats on your newborn. It’s a fun time but not a lot of sewing gets done during these early years. I now have my older ones sewing dolly quilts on their own little machine. Best of luck…..
It’s getting so I can’t wait for your next post — like a serial novel back in Dicken’s era. Love every word!
Great job with the quilting. I like the random widths. Too bad little Miss N is too young for her own sewing machine. Her time will come.
K, your quilts are as fabulous as your blog… or is it the other way around? I love your creativity and your posts. Keep it up, please. I’m looking forward to hearing all about Sewing Summit, I hope you have a blast!! Have you made your nametag yet?
Guilty here too of QWM. Roan prefaces all sentences with, “when you finish…”
this is another piece of yours that i adore. i think the quilting looks fantastic. and i don’t quilt while mothering a lot, but i do read blogs, gawk at pictures, plan fabrics, cut and piece while mothering. last week i kept the two year old from disturbing my color combos on the coffee table. he was under the weather, so that made him a little less destruction-prone.