Time for a real stretch

I don't have a background in art and I've sewn very little over the years, so I'm a little surprised at how intensely I've taken to quilting. I've spent the last couple years learning basic quilting skills and figuring out what works for me, and now I'm ready to break some rules! Actually, I don't think of it as breaking rules, I think of it as trying my wings -- finding out who I am as as a quilter. If the end result is not aesthetically pleasing, it doesn't matter what rules are followed or broken.

I love this book -- I've spent hours looking at the quilts and trying to figure out what makes them work. Most of them I like, several I love, and a few I could do without. It's not a pattern book, it's a book that gives you ideas you can play with. It shows you a few things you need to know, then sets you free. And now I'm going to give it a try! We recently repainted our main living area and changed the furniture. This was a big step for me -- my first walls that weren't white! We love it, but we have a big blank wall over the cranberry red couch. My wonderful husband suggested that it would be the perfect place for a quilt. And it would! So I'm going to try some of the suggestions in this book to come up with a quilt for that space. YES!

For other projects -- Laurel's I Spy quilt is almost completely quilted (I love watching the diamonds form on the back!) and in looking through the Outside the Block book, an idea for a border for my Stroop quilt just popped into my head -- I hadn't even thought about a border before! Can't wait. Unfortunately, I have to go to work in 10 minutes.