Why Does Quilting Have to Be So Messy?

No, no need to answer that question--it's rhetorical. I just spent several hours on Saturday night cleaning up the Sweat Shop and getting everything nice and tidy--after a couple weeks of working on several versions of the Cherry Delight quilt and several other projects as well, the Sweat Shop was starting to look like a fabric bomb had exploded in there. And, for a couple days, it stayed nice and neat. Of course, I realized I couldn't pull anything out to work on if I wanted to keep it that way, so for the most part, I've just gone in there, sat in my quilting chair, and admired the clean orderliness of it all.

I don't do well with mess. My desk at work is very orderly--nearly compulsively so, but not quite. And I'm pretty much that way with everything. Otherwise, I tend to lose stuff, not the least of which is my mind.

Still, I find that it's nearly impossible to quilt without making a complete and total MESS. I think part of it has to do with my small space, but I also think it's just the nature of the endeavor.

Do you remember the six-month class I'm taking, Back Home? That's the one with the cute little suitcase and the 1800s repro fabric? The one I went to the wrong class for a couple weeks ago? Well, the RIGHT class is coming up on Thursday, so I started thinking about making this month's blocks. And you know what? I decided I wanted to start all over again (which means making THIS month's two blocks plus four previous blocks)--and I want to use different fabric.

Did I hear someone ask, "Why?" Well, it's like this. I'm currently taking three ongoing classes or clubs, and all three involve 1800s repro fabric. Don't get me wrong--I LIKE the 1800s repros. But I like other things too. So, I thought, why would I want to spend all my quilting time working with the same kind of fabric when I have a whole room in my house stuffed to the brim with non-1800s repro fabric?

Then, too, I have to blame Sinta. Have you stopped by to visit her new blog? Well, if you click HERE and scroll down a bit to see some of her quilts, you'll come across a house block quilt using the Ellery line of fabric that came out about a year ago. And yes, as it happens, I have a fairly healthy collection of the Ellery fabrics that were just languishing on a shelf. So, when I saw Sinta's quilt and remembered my forgotten Ellery fabrics and THEN started thinking about what I wanted to do about this Back Home quilt project, it all just fell into place.

So, tonight when I came home from teaching the Hey Ghoul Friend class, I pulled out my little Back Home suitcase, got out the patterns, and pulled a pile of Ellery fabric off the shelf. And, voila! In no time, the Sweat Shop became a very messy place to play in again.

Not all of that stack is the Ellery fabric--there's some cotton and wool on the bottom that doesn't belong. And there's another stack or two of the Ellery fabric out of frame. In other words, I've spread fabric all over the place, and once again, it looks like a fabric bomb exploded in the Sweat Shop. I think it only took about 15 minutes to go from neat and tidy to cluttered and messy.

Because I got a late start on my play time tonight, I only got one block made. There's not a lot of definition in two of the colors--the yellow and light pink--so the star pattern doesn't really stand out very well, but I think that's okay. I suppose I could do it over again if I decide I can't live with it. Really, though, I just wanted to play with fussy cutting that center square, and I like it well enough. All in all, I think I'm going to enjoy making this quilt in these fabrics much more! Now, if I could only figure out a way to keep it neat and orderly, I'd be in heaven!

Hey, you know what? It just occurred to me that if ever a time comes when the Sweat Shop stays neat and orderly for any amount of time, it probably WILL be because I'm in heaven--or whatever alternative may be awaiting me! So I guess I'll just need to find a way to enjoy it--after all, it's a HAPPY mess!

Happy quilting!