A finished object - Chemo quilt
G'day all!
It is now six years since I started quilting.
Six years!
I blame Dana from OldRedBarnCo. She started a quiltalong that was going to be easy for beginners to do. I already had a stash of fabric even though I didn't make anything bar the odd project bag for knitting. Okay, so I was already itching to learn how to quilt but I needed an excuse. She led me to the Dark Side and I've never looked back.
So I've got a few quilts under my belt now and a machine that is pretty good for machine quilting on now that I've worked out the kinks (aka buy good quality high speed sewing machine needles, tweak the bobbin tension and get smooth multiple ply thread).
It was time to finish off an old quilt. One that had given me problems through no fault of the lead of that round of the quiltalong (JayBirdQuilts - yep part of the way she got her start was through Dana's quiltalong). Nope, it was me who cut half the blocks out one way and half of them another way, and ne'er the twain shall meet. The blocks were so simple too - just sew two 2.5" strips together and then cut them into 60 degree triangles, then arrange as you fancy.
I was on chemo at the time and that is my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
Therefore I call this my Chemo quilt. It looks quite good from afar
And some of the blocks look quite fine
And others, umm, well... oops.
But on the whole, there are lots of nice blocks in this quilt, and I had a super fun time quilting it.
Some of the quilting looks quite regular and nice - flowers and feathers and stuff
Then I deliberately wonked some of it up - just like on chemo when you think you have everything worked out and your act in gear, you realise that in fact you aren't holding everything together and you are at the brink of collapse. The feathers look beautiful for a while then they become less regular and start doing their own thing.
Just like on chemo some days you feel okay and other days everything is jaggy and wrong.
But even then, you still try to make life beautiful.
I must thank someone (whom I can't remember now, dang chemo) who gave me all of her scraps when I ran out. I must've thrown out the good bits (danged chemo) and kept the scrappy bits because I only had rubbishy little bits and I needed more blocks. She had already sewn hers into a rail fence and strips. I pulled some apart to make the blocks I needed and the rest feature on the back of the quilt. Thank you whomever you are, I really appreciate your generosity.
Thank heavens I'm five years out and counting from finishing chemo. It certainly gave me a new appreciation for life and for those who have to go through chemo and the crap that cancer brings. Chronic illness too.
I've been giving away a lot of my quilts but this one I am keeping. It is a record of where I was then and it also is a bright and cheery quilt.
anon!
PS
It is now six years since I started quilting.
Six years!
I blame Dana from OldRedBarnCo. She started a quiltalong that was going to be easy for beginners to do. I already had a stash of fabric even though I didn't make anything bar the odd project bag for knitting. Okay, so I was already itching to learn how to quilt but I needed an excuse. She led me to the Dark Side and I've never looked back.
So I've got a few quilts under my belt now and a machine that is pretty good for machine quilting on now that I've worked out the kinks (aka buy good quality high speed sewing machine needles, tweak the bobbin tension and get smooth multiple ply thread).
It was time to finish off an old quilt. One that had given me problems through no fault of the lead of that round of the quiltalong (JayBirdQuilts - yep part of the way she got her start was through Dana's quiltalong). Nope, it was me who cut half the blocks out one way and half of them another way, and ne'er the twain shall meet. The blocks were so simple too - just sew two 2.5" strips together and then cut them into 60 degree triangles, then arrange as you fancy.
I was on chemo at the time and that is my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
Therefore I call this my Chemo quilt. It looks quite good from afar
 |
| Sorry about cutting the last row off, I'm not quite tall enough... |
And some of the blocks look quite fine
 |
| See, that's not too shabby |
And others, umm, well... oops.
 |
| Oh dear |
But on the whole, there are lots of nice blocks in this quilt, and I had a super fun time quilting it.
 |
| Nice flowers and feathers |
Some of the quilting looks quite regular and nice - flowers and feathers and stuff
 |
| See? Nice! |
Then I deliberately wonked some of it up - just like on chemo when you think you have everything worked out and your act in gear, you realise that in fact you aren't holding everything together and you are at the brink of collapse. The feathers look beautiful for a while then they become less regular and start doing their own thing.
 |
| Wonked up and jaggy. |
Just like on chemo some days you feel okay and other days everything is jaggy and wrong.
 |
| Label. Yep, I put a label on this one. |
But even then, you still try to make life beautiful.
 |
| Random stippling |
I must thank someone (whom I can't remember now, dang chemo) who gave me all of her scraps when I ran out. I must've thrown out the good bits (danged chemo) and kept the scrappy bits because I only had rubbishy little bits and I needed more blocks. She had already sewn hers into a rail fence and strips. I pulled some apart to make the blocks I needed and the rest feature on the back of the quilt. Thank you whomever you are, I really appreciate your generosity.
 |
| I cut the end off the back too in the photo. Oops. |
Thank heavens I'm five years out and counting from finishing chemo. It certainly gave me a new appreciation for life and for those who have to go through chemo and the crap that cancer brings. Chronic illness too.
 |
| The red end of the quilt does exist, see? Also the stitching seems to stick out. Don't you love optical illusions? |
I've been giving away a lot of my quilts but this one I am keeping. It is a record of where I was then and it also is a bright and cheery quilt.
anon!
PS
 |
| Don't try this at home. I missed my finger 8-) |
What a wonderful quilt and all the more wonderful for what it represents. I love how youve quilted it with swirls, feathers and wonky bits. I've sewn my gloves to the quilt too.. good sign to have a break.
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