I'm literally and truely addicted to hand quilting. Now that I've finished hand quilting an actual adult sized quilt I feel like I can tackle any size, and I was on pins and needles when I pulled it from the drier last night. The linen and silk (pink stuff) washed up unbelievably soft with the slightest shine. It was not the most cooperative fabric to work with, but in the end it really was the perfect choice for this quilt.

Early in the process I had a lovely woman inquire about purchasing this quilt. I was really flattered, but as I labored over the little stitched strawberries the idea of sending this quilt away began to really tug at my heart strings. As I got to know more about this quilt's new home, I learned that this cancer survivor and her husband hope to use it in the nursery for a baby they dreamed of but worried chemo might prevent. It very quickly became clear to me, without knowing it or accepting it in the process: I have been making this quilt for just this family all along. Now I'm left with the wonderful satisfaction that my handiwork will grow and age in the folds of their domestic lives.

This is what we do together for fun. We made this little guy by hand with the best wool felt we could find. That's right, Tim actualy helped me hand sew some of the seams. Personally, I'm in love with his hat. Here's the original illustration.

A blue quilt for a blue day. Despite the dreary weather, I decided I just had to photograph this one anyway today. I posted about this quilt made with our old button up shirts a few weeks ago. I'm coming to terms with the orange fabric finally, and I guess it's just going to have to be the binding. I waited forever to get my hands on some more of the duck egg shot cotton. That's the last time I'm going to be stuck without enough fabric to finish a project. Lesson learned: plan a tiny bit more. I'm going to be pulling in a yellow thread for my handquilting to pick up the yellow in several of the patterned fabrics. Not quite sure what my plan of attack is, but I know I'll be quilting triangles in some way. Really digging the linen for this one. It's like bleached driftwood or something really lovely and weathered. I'm also really into the way the star blocks sort of dance with the value play.

I'm finally feeling pretty settled into my new home and a consistent routine of making work, and I'm pretty relieved that many of the ideas I was able to focus on and refine in grad school haven't just disappeared in my thinking. I'm not sure what I thought would happen after I left Boston, but that fear always comes from the back of my mind when a big change happens that all the hard work would just evaporate from my mind somehow. In the past it has always surprised me how creativity and inspiration just don't work in that logical a fashion, just giving myself time and space in my new life is enough to let ideas resurface in a new way. This week I'm really finding joy in the fact that something so organic, surprising and even chaotic is actually the most dependable and rewarding constant in my life.

Our dining table is finally here! We're still waiting on some chairs, but our desk chairs are working for now. We had a laugh last night when Tim said, "Gee it feels like we're out to eat" and I was like "Yeah, but eating out was the only time in the past six years that we would sit at a dining table together."