In pieces

Many years ago - possibly 30 years ago, good grief - I began a quilt.  It was a grandmother's flower garden quilt, using the English piecing method (over papers).  The quilt was entirely hand stitched.  

Over the years I added another round, then some some more to link the flowers together.  Then more hexagons to go all around the edge, and finally a dark border to set the quilt off.  There was no planning and no real colour scheme.  It was made from 2 1/2" hexagons, all over papers and all hand-stitched.  When I came to take the papers out, just three or four years ago, I found bits of newsletters from my children's primary school! 

This quilt top has seen three house moves.  It has been packed up from one attic and moved on to the next.  Each time I think, 'I really should do something about that' but the thought of quilting it has always put me off.

On this move, the quilt top ended up in the 'sewing room'.  It's sat there for a few weeks, brooding.  Last week I took it out, photographed it . . . .  and took it to pieces.

The truth was, I don't like it.  I have felt compelled to carry it around with me, all these years, because I knew how much work had gone into it.  Hours and hours and hours of laborious hand-stitching.  It became a burden, something I felt obliged to complete.  Funnily enough, once I had made the decision to undo it all, I felt liberated - it wasn't a burden any longer.  There is a fair amount of fabric in the dark brown border, sizeable yardage so I know that will be used.  The 'flowers' could, I suppose, be used for pot holders or place mats, maybe I'll feel inspired to make them into something.  The pink and brown hexagons will most likely be unpicked completely and I could get triangles or squares out of them.  Whatever I decide to do, I am so glad, so relieved to see the back of that quilt top.  

So now I only have one quilt top to make up, and I am happy with that.

I think perhaps there's a lesson to be learned here.  It's not always easy to let go of something, especially something that a lot of time or energy has been invested in, but clinging on to it just for the sake of it isn't necessarily the right thing.  Sometimes we need to let go.



Time out this weekend for family stuff - 'life' does have a habit of barging in - but it meant spending a few hours, quite unexpectedly, with my children, just we three.  It was precious.