I was so excited when the announcement for the #femedtechquilt project appeared. I started my quilting journey in March of 2013. I have always been inspired by my incredibly talented friend Lish and I was looking for a way to push myself out of my comfort zone and to try something new. I was all in, amazed by the tremendous online support community surrounding quilting.

Over the years I’ve made a handful of quilts for special babies, a quilt block for the Boston Marathon bombing victims, and eco friendly “Santa sacks” for holidays.

The last quilt I made was in 2014 for a very special little girl (Gretchen). It was a simple but colorful quilt made out of a “jelly roll.” After about a year long quilting sprint, my excitement died down a bit and work and commuting got in the way. (I basically spent 12 hours a day in a combination of driving and sitting at my computer.) Coming home and sitting for a long spell didn’t seem like the healthiest thing to do, so, quilting fell to the wayside.

I have a gorgeous stash of fabric, (a pile of guilt) just waiting to be turned into something amazing. Fabric shopping is one of the most exciting parts of quilting (at least for me it is!) So when the opportunity to contribute to the #femedtechquilt came up – I jumped at the chance to turn some guilt into joy.

As I was digging through the fabrics, I found a stash of scraps. I had a long strip of the quilt I made for Gretchen…and…that struck me as perfect fodder for the quilt block.  Then, I found another pile of lovely “charm packs” with beautiful images of girls reading, playing, and reading. The girl with the hula-hoop looked so happy. The thought of stitching her into the block made ME happy so I decided to go for it.  I cut a few strips from the quilt scraps and stitched them together into a 7×7 square. Then, I was very excited because I knew I had a chance to use the decorative stitch option on my Husqvarna to add the girl. There are hundreds of fun stitches – and hearts felt most appropriate. And, that’s the story of this block!

In all, it only took me about 20 minutes to put it together. I (for some reason) initially felt guilt about that too – but then talked some sense into my head and was proud of the fact that I could step away (for years!) and put something really cool and meaningful together.

Watching #femedtechquilt grow online has brought me (much needed) sparks of joy. I’m sorry I will not be at #OER20 in person to see it, but, I have a feeling that will not be my only opportunity to interact with these intertwined threads of inspiration.

 

Shared by: Leigh Wolf @gravesle
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