Quilting is an activity I enjoy for the creative outlet it provides. What people who do not take part in quilting may not realize it that it is an addiction. You NEVER have enough fabric or quilting stuff.

I have bought fabric all over the country for my stash. I have bins and shelves of fabric plus books and patterns. Chances are if I see a quilt book at a garage sale, I am going to buy it.

Posted here is my latest creation, a nine patch of houses and stars. This is only the starting point as I have to start adding various borders to make it into a king size quilt to fit my queen size bed. You would do the same thing if your husband was forever stealing all of the blankets. If it is a king size then there is a chance I will get to have some.

“Wait a minute,” you are saying to yourself. “I know for a fact you have four kids and a dog. When do you have time to sew quilt tops?”

To be honest, I do not get much time. I try to hand piece patches and sashing. I can make small cutting projects. But to do the big stuff, to make that big center piece, I have to go somewhere that is having a sewing day. Someplace that allows me to work on a project without being called away to deal with fights, desires for food or the toilet overflowing.

So I go to B&J Sewing in Bourbonnais when they have a sewing day every month. The second Saturday of the month sees women with sewing machines and project bags coming in to get to work. There is a project of the day or you can work on your own project. One month, everyone was working on a big bag (very cute and oh, so handy). Other times it is a seasonal quilt or table runner.

I am always working on some project in an effort to cut down my stash and make it more manageable at the house. What I like is seeing other people’s projects, their color choices and fabrics choices. It is an amazing way to learn how to do it right by seeing what other quilters choose to put together. I have seen combinations I would have never picked out but work together well.

Another great thing about this is talking to other people. You learn about different activities, places and recipes. You hear about people’s vacations, best quilting retreats, and health issues. There is not much that is not shared until the room is quiet, except for the whirling of sewing machine motors. The time has hit 3 pm and projects need to get done.

I have also come to trust the opinion of store owner, Barb Marcukaitis. When I am doing a layout of patches or looking for another color to add to the current project, it is Barb’s opinion I look to. Case in point, she helped me find that lovely brown that I used as the current final border.  It had the right amount of caramel shading to keep the brown from being too dark and overpowering.

Over the years I have seen her help customers and do impromptu lessons that made people better quilters. That alone is worth the cost of the class for the day. And I am not alone because this past Saturday the room was packed with women working on their latest projects.

Next month, I am planning to be at Quilter Saturday so I can finish this project and get to work on the next one BECAUSE the one with the most completed quilts wins!

For more information about B&J Sewing, visit the website at  http://www.bjsewing.com or visit the shop at 616 S. Main in Bourbonnais.

Karyn Bowman lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook or send an e-mail to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 12th, 2010 at 12:48 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.