The Box

 I have this box.

It's where all my unfinished projects go to die wait patiently for me to decide what to do with them.

Do you have one of those too?  Ok, truth be told I actually have two--one for sewing projects and one for crochet projects.  I like to be organized like that.

Anyway, as I was puttering around the house today, trying to decide what project I could do for this little blog (and avoiding unpacking all that random stuff left over from moving) I pulled out the box.

It's like a little walk down memory lane.  So much potential, but not quite enough talent to figure out how to fix the mistakes.  Unfinished pajamas for a 3 year old made with knit fabric (my daughter is 5 now), a cut out but not sewn top, and the start of a quilt.

This rather large project was my project at the end of last summer.  I just got back from visiting my husband (he was away for military training).  I had exactly 90 days to fill up with something before he would be home.  Why not a quilt?  Thus began the quilt of 2012.  I didn't want your run of the mill repeat the same pattern 36 times quilt though.  Oh no.  This girl is unique.  Maybe even hipster.  I needed something with vivacity (I am not sure you can ever say a quilt has vivacity, but that's what I was going for).

I inspected the clearance section for the end of the season items and voila--jackpot.  Spring packet of 6  fat quarter prints only $5.  Sold.

I went home and dug through my fabric, and found I had quite the collection of spring-like material.   

I pulled out my favorite sewing tool--the rotary cutter (and its side kick the cutting board).  I cut all of my fabric to 10 1/2 inches, and left the other direction whatever it was.  

I picked a few of my favorite fabrics, cut them into strips of random widths, and then sewed them all together.  I proceeded this way happily jamming to my Pandora radio station.  I sewed a little, then cut a little, with absolutely no idea where I was going.  The only thing I did do, was make sure I made square blocks.  Each block always ended up 10 1/2 by 10 1/2, but other than that, none were the same.  I have never made so many quilt blocks in so little time in my entire life.  I finished 20 squares in one night.  20!  I thought to myself, 'this quilt will be done in a week!'  Famous last words. 

As I ran out of material (because really, I did no measuring and no planning.  I kind of knew this would happen.) I got creative and put together all sorts of strange assortments.  It was rather fun.

After I got bored cutting and sewing, I made some solid white squares, to give some breaks to the wild prints and lack of pattern.  They stayed plain and white for about 20 seconds, until I dreamed up the idea of adding embroidery to the plain blocks.  How creative am I?  Never mind that adding those little details would take an absolute eternity, and I only had 90 days.

As always, life happened.  I had other obligations, and before I knew it, 90 days were up.  The hubby would be coming home, and although he wouldn't bat an eye at coming home to a half finished quilt laying right where he needed to walk, I thought it best to tuck it away.  It has now been almost one year exactly from the last time I worked on this quilt.

How's the quilt look today?  Well, all the blocks are sewn.  Just as soon as I get around to embroidering 7 more blocks, I can sew them all together in strips and eventually a quilt top.  Then there is the dreaded quilting, and binding.  If my record holds from the last time I quilted something, it takes me about 3 years to finish it.

I still love the colors and the crazy randomness of the quilt.  I think my great-grandmother who showed me how to quilt might question my choices.  

Maybe me writing an entire post on my quilt will kickstart me into finishing this, so it doesn't sit in the box.  So, do you have a box?  What do you do with your stuff when you mess up?  Does it hit the trash can or do you try to save it?