Where Do Your Quilts Go To Mature?

Have you ever started a quilt and just can't decide how it should "grow up"? Should it become a pillow, a tote bag, a wall hanging, a throw or bed-size quilt? Here is a comical look at how your quilting can mature.

We have all started a project and gotten stuck with the details – should it be beaded, does it need more applique, you just can't find the right piece of fabric for the border… it just isn't ready to be finished, it needs "something". Well this is usually when we decide that our quilting project needs to "mature" for a bit. Just like the cheese in the "Cheez-Its" commercial, this project just isn't ready yet, so don't push it, let it rest in a closet, drawer, tote bag or plastic box (but make sure to keep all of it's components, fabric, thread, and accessories with it). Occasionally come back to this immature project and see if it speaks to you "I'm ready, just add some more bling!" or "Ummm, no I really don't know what I want to be when I grow up." might be the answer, but don't worry, you can always give it more time and try again, it may just have gotten "cold" enough to be ready to speak to you and tell you what it needs to reach maturity.

Just as our children grow and mature at different rates, so do our quilting projects. Some just need a little "time-out" so we can think about other projects and get them finished before we are ready to help this one mature, but others need a bit more help. Who knows, your project may need that "special school" otherwise known as a Guild Meeting where you bring it out and introduce it to your friends and ask their suggestions on how to "raise your little darling." Or, you may decide that raising this project to maturity is best left to a professional and hire the best and the brightest professional quilter to finish raising it. Alternately, you may decide that this is one project that needs to be put up for adoption and there is no shame in that! Just think of it as helping a fellow quilter complete a project that must have been intended for her originally – it's certainly better than wasting your time and resources by just throwing the project away. But let's be serious, how many of us have used "file 13" to finish a project before? No worries, we won't tell a soul and the quilt police can't come for you, the statue of limitations has already passed.

Remember that our quilting is to be enjoyed, and bring others enjoyment, not frustrate us. If you have that immature project or 50 hanging around, don't worry, they can grow up to be useful members of society, they just might need a tutor or adoption, or just time.

Happy quilting!