My Charmed Life: May 2013

I have always been a creative person. I can remember sitting with my Grandma making felt Christmas ornaments. I would spend hours sewing all of the little felt pieces and then hundreds of sequins and beads that came in the kit. I also remember taking scraps of fabric, sewing them together then stuffing them, and being so proud of the little pillow that I had just made. I think after that I moved on to cross stitch. Sewing is definitely not the only crafty thing I enjoy. I make jewelry, refinish furniture, I love to paint. (Not pictures. I'm definitely not an artist) I'm hard wired to look at something and immediately think "I can make that". Luckily I married someone who thinks the same way. Although, not in a crafty sense. We totally speak each other's language when there's a car or house that needs to be redone, but my craft room and all of it's supplies? Not so much. So I can safely say that the one hobby that I never took up was scrapbooking. Anyone who knows me, knows that if I take up a new hobby, I will buy every supply, gadget, or tool that could possibly be needed for it. Have you ever taken a walk down one of the 20 aisles in Hobby Lobby dedicated to Scrapbooking? I would probably end up divorced.

When I was 21 years old I decided that I wanted to learn how to quilt. (Yep. Totally what every 21 year old usually does with their time.) I pulled out the phone book (yes, I'm dating myself) and found a quilt shop a couple of miles from my house. I drove over there, signed myself up for a sampler class (A "sampler" is a quilt with several different types of quilt blocks in one quilt.) I bought all of the fabrics that the lady helped me pick out and anxiously awaited my first class. The first thing I noticed the first day was that I was at least 50 years younger than anyone else taking the class. The second thing I noticed was I was the only one doing it all by hand. (I had never learned how to sew on a machine.) My first quilt turned out pretty good. I made a couple more but then I down my quilter's hoop for many years because it is very tedious work. Every cut has to be perfect. The seams all have to lay just right. Hand quilting takes FOREVER. And I literally hate the process of binding when it's all done. But then I discovered my new love.

Rag quilting has quickly become my passion! It's all done by machine, the cuts don't have to be precise, you don't use an intricate pattern and it is WAY faster than traditional quilting.

I'm not posting a tutorial right now. (The main reason I'm even writing this post is for my dear friend Casey.) This Saturday my town is hosting a Car Cruise and silent auction to benefit Kacey. (With a K. Different person. See my last post) I wanted to make a quilt to put into the auction. I saw an American flag rag quilt and decided that's what I would make for the auction. When I finished it, I posted it on FB and my Bestie (whom I haven't been able to live near for way too many years) wanted to see more of what I have made....so here you go. Just for you Case.