Behind the Kate

Lately I've done a lot more thinking about quilting, than actually quilting.

Here's the little sis' holding the quilt requested from the older sis'

So here are my thoughts:

1. I thought about my blog and what I REALLY want from it.

2. Then I thought about my style and how I approach quilting.

3. Then I OVER analyzed my abilities and came up with a list of shortcomings.

4. Then I felt inadequate and subsequently unsure of myself.

5. Then came the loss of my desire to sew.  It was painful to even think about sewing.

I'm not the only one who faces these "quilt mind demons," right?  Why do we let this happen to ourselves?  We need to be critical of our work to improve, right? Why do we let comparison or critics be the thief of our joy?

When you feel burnt out and unconfident, what do you do to rise above the quilting blues?

I took a break from sewing and from my quilt blog reading (I really do love you all, but I needed a complete separation).  Who could concentrate on finding peace when you have all of those wonderful pictures and projects to see and read about?  You all continue to amaze me!

I'm slowly getting back into sewing.  The request from my sister came at a good time and a simple quilt project is what I needed.  I also joined a Friday Night Sew Along group on Instagram (#fridaynightsewalong) and the support from my fellow quilters boosted my sewing confidence.  Thanks Sarah of Sarah Quilts!

Seriously, who doesn't love all the quilters?  We have such a wonderful community and I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to get to know everyone.

Handstitching

To hand-quilt or to machine quilt, that is the question...

I find that this is an interesting question to ask quilters.  There are some who enjoy the hand-quilting and believe this to be the best way, while others love the speed and consistency or "look" of the machine quilting.  Some quilters are more passionate than others with their opinions.

For me, I enjoy the hand-quilting, but can only get myself to do it every four quilts or so.  And sometimes I only do it when I have a tight deadline.  Wait, isn't hand-quilting supposed to take longer?  Sometimes yes, but my trusted quilter tends to have a 3-4 turn around and sometimes a girl does not have that scheduled into her timeline. 

This weekend I started hand-quilting an adorable project for my niece.  She is turning eight and in my faith, it's a big milestone.  As a part of this milestone, my sister asked for a quilt...with a short timeline.  The result is a simpler quilt that I'm excited to share, but I'm waiting on finishing the hand-quilting first!

The quilt features some of the Wee Wander fabric along with prints from my stash.  To make the quilt more snuggly, I used a "flamingo" colored minky for the backing.  The coral color lent itself well to some pearl cotton and I'm now off to the races.

By the way, it's a little tougher to hand quilt through minky...just an fyi.

Crossing my fingers I can get this hand-quilted this weekend!