February4, 2015
I think I’m officially addicted; I’ve signed up for two more mini-quilt swaps.
Do I have time to do them? Probably not. Am I a little stressed about the number of things on my plate for Quilt Market? Decidedly yes (shingles, anyone?). So why do I do it to myself? Why add more to the mix?
Because it’s fun.
You see, when you work at a quilt shop by day and design quilt patterns by night you’re not left with a lot of room for ‘fun sewing’. And I see that face, that face that says, “Blasphemy! Crazy talk! When isn’t sewing fun?!” The overwhelming majority of the stitching that the Eye Candy Quilters do is stitching with a purpose. We have to test out a block. We need to make a sample. We need to remake a sample. We need to design something cool for this fabric line and put it together really really fast! And we love it. Loooooooove it. SO MUCH. It’s challenging and fast-paced and exciting! But it always has a reason that’s a little more weighty than “just because.”
To shake off a little bit of that responsible sewing, I’m doing two S.W.A.P.s, or Stitching Without A Purpose. For me, it’s a chance to play. Maybe I’ll get to use oddball colors. Maybe my partner will want a quilt in a style I’ve never tried before. Maybe it’ll be easy and instant gratification quilting. Then again, maybe I’ll hate it. Who knows? But it’s only 24″ of quilting commitment, and that’s time and stitching I can spare.