Thought I’d spice this up a bit with some of my good ole Italian…besides, a picture is worth a thousand words, so if there’s any question of what that title means, just take a gander at this:
Partial view of quilt back with label signed and dated
Yep, Coffee Beans Means Love to Me is no longer a WIP, but a completed project.
Last seen on the table ready to be basted a few posts ago, I experimented with using large quilter safety pins. In general, I liked the way they held the 3-layered sandwich together while I machine quilted. However, the holes they left in the fabric after being removed left me wondering why I didn’t just do it the way I’ve always done it.
Basting together pieces of (he)art*
Live and learn.
Perfectionist that I am, I feared I’d wrecked the whole thing. Then I remembered: part of our between homes experience was embracing the ‘strange life path’ He had for us. So what’s a few microscopic pin pricks?
Still living. Still learning.
Finishing Coffee Beans has been freeing. A sort-of final transition stage where our between homes past has been pieced together into something beautiful to be seen in the ‘now’ as a reminder while we proceed into the ‘next’…
The road between homes has ended for now, but the creative journey has not.
*creative confluence: Coffee Beans Means Love to Me (2014), my NaNo Novel, ‘The Woman Who Didn’t Belong’ (2013), my hand scored original arrangement of ‘Mo Giolla Mear’ written while I was ‘Swimming with Swans’ in IN (2010), favorite guitar strings and an old photo of me with an anonymous horse in Montana during Spring Break (circa 1977).
What a gorgeous quilt! How do you find time to be so creative on so many levels: blogging, quilting, song-writing, writing novels! I’ve started doing some drawing and pastel painting recently, but very slow going. I’m almost afraid of doing anything new until I finish the nearly endless revisions of my novel.
I totally understand about the fear you describe. However, I’ve found that unless I’m ‘in the Zone’ on a particular project, my (he)art benefits from creative forays into other artistic and/or life adventures.
How is your novel progressing? Will you be sharing some of your new pastels/paintings on your website?
That is such a gorgeous quilt! Oh my goodness, the full view is stunning. I just love the colour of the sash against those blocks, and of course, you know what I think about that coffee print. 😀
When I use safety pins, I know those holes you describe, but I’ve not found them upon washing and drying. I do use about 1″ sized pins, until I run out. Then I use smaller ones, saving the big 2″ sized only if I need them.
coffeeisquiltbeautypeace
That sashing/backing fabric was meant to be…Purchased on-sale clearance at a famous quilters-source warehouse some 20 years ago, it’s been waiting for such a time as this.
Thanks for the tidbit on those quilters safety pins, I never thought to wash a quilt after it’s been completed.
Oh and thanks again for the prods! 😉
My pleasure! And yes, those fabrics were just waiting for the proper moment in time. Again, that is so beautiful; I am just in awe of such a piece with so much meaning. 😉
Every quilt has a story to tell, as you know. Thank you for taking the time to read/discover the meaning behind Coffee Beans.
betweenhomespeace