Take the Time

Last week we talked about Spring flowers and how we were anxiously awaiting them. But flowers only bloom when they are ready. And so we must be patient. Quilters are the same way. You cannot rush or force yourself to quilt beautifully. It takes time and practice. Be patient and give yourself grace. Take the time to develop your skills.

Practice

Anything you want to do well takes practice… playing piano, playing golf, baking bread, piecing a quilt top, driving a car. You did not get behind the wheel of a car and go straight out on the highway and drive at 85 miles per hour!

No, you drove around the church parking lot with your brave driving instructor telling you to Slow Down! “But Mom! I’m doing 4 mph!”  And you practiced your driving as much as you could. Because you REALLY wanted to be able to drive.

The same should be true for quilting. You should want to practice as much as you can. Because you REALLY want to quilt well. You’ve got all those quilt tops just waiting for you to be good enough to make them into gorgeous quilts.

The Secret

Experts agree that the best way to learn a new skill is to practice Every Day. I know what you’re thinking! “I don’t have time to quilt every day.” But I’m here to tell you that you really do. If practicing every day is the secret, and you really want to quilt better, then carve out the time. It doesn’t take hours! 15 minutes a day is all you need to become a better quilter. You can’t save it up and do an hour and a half every Saturday. You have to do a little every day.

Set yourself up for success

If you are a movable machine quilter then always have your frame loaded with your practice piece. Never have a naked frame! If you are a stationary machine quilter, always have a quilt sandwich or three ready to stitch. Take the time to prepare for practice. Then you can easily turn your machine on and stitch for 15 minutes.

Get some cheap muslin. Use the fabric in your stash that you know you’ll never use in a quilt. Go to the thrift store (op shop for my Aussie friends) and buy some sheets. It doesn’t have to be fancy. You just want to be able to see your stitching. So if you use that ugly stash fabric, turn it over and quilt on the back where the busy print won’t obscure your stitches.

For batting, use your scraps. Don’t bother to stitch or fuse it together into a Franken-batting. Simply lay the pieces down on your backing next to each other. There might be gaps but don’t worry! It’s for PRACTICE. You’ll likely throw it away eventually. I recommend stitching on your initial sandwich and when it gets filled up, lay another piece of fabric on top and fill it up again. You can get away with 3 or 4 top layers before it gets so stiff you’ll want to toss it and start fresh.

What to practice

You might be pretty good at a stipple or all over loops. Or maybe you have a pretty floral pattern you’ve mastered. DON’T use your precious 15 minutes stitching what you are already good at. Practice what you haven’t mastered yet. Try a design you’d like to use for your next quilt. Practice that beautiful feather you saw (and took a photo of for reference) at the quilt show last week.

Take the time. You’ll be glad you did. And this is why I sign off the blog each week with:

Quilt Every Day.

by Mary Beth Krapil