Homemaking Bliss, Installment I: The Trip To The Fabric Store

As promised, I am chronicling my journey into homemaking bliss. It starts at the fabric store.

I was so excited when Ms. Glenda told me that I would not need any special skills in order to learn how to quilt. Just a working familiarity with the machine. I am hoping to have that by the time the class starts, on March 10th. She bids me come and see her at the store and she will go over everything I need for the class.

Excited does not begin to cover how I felt. I was thrilled. It was almost as if I was going to come out of that store with the thing already sewed together, ready to put on the bed. I could not wait to go to the fabric store. And on that Friday, the whole gang went. They stayed out in the car and I got to go in by myself.

I just love looking at fabric. Not touching it or sewing with it. Just looking at it. Everything was so organized (shelved by color and style) and I wondered if I had ever seen so much fabric in all my life. It was fabric that was just waiting to be made into something. Of course, not by me because I am sewing-impaired.

I had not decided what I was going to do with the quilt. I had thought about making it for my mom or possibly for the end of our bed. Mom's favorite color is red and our bedroom is purple. Oh, why does everything have to be so complicated?

Ms. Glenda said that the beginner quilt that I would be making is similar to what is called a "log cabin" quilt, except this was her own design. I had only heard of such a thing from Jackie who either had one or was making one or both. Then she cut me loose to find all the fabric. Well, she offered to help me and I didn't want to waste her time while I panicked over every available choice.

I didn't even know where to start. There was a ton of fabric in that store of every conceivable hue. And I had to pick out 5 different ones for my quilt. And they needed to look well together. This was a major problem because I could not envision what this was going to look like in my head.

The more I walked around, the more overwhelmed I became. My quilting career was about to be over even before it started.

So I ran outside and conferred with Brian. I know those ladies thought I was leaving and that I wasn't coming back. (The thought crossed my mind!) There were several paisleys that I loved, but that didn't fit into either of the ideas I'd had on what to do with the quilt. There were too many choices and I didn't have the first idea of where to start.

"Help me figure this out or I'm done," I assured him.

He told me to make the quilt for Darcy [what a novel idea!] and go get the pink paisley and get some soft pinks and maybe a white to go with it. I was thrilled. At least I had an idea that I could work with.

With Ms. Glenda's help, I was finally able to pick out coordinating fabrics. At least I hope they are coordinating!

Something I found very interesting is that they do not cut the fabric with scissors. (She said this was my first quilting lesson.) They tear the fabric. She says that by tearing the fabric, it is always "cut" straight, even if it's rolled on the bolt crooked. (Because it tears on the grain.) After all my years hanging out at Hancock's as a young girl with my mother and grandmother, I had never heard of such a thing. What a concept.

Class starts on Monday. I am excited and a wee bit nervous.

My fabric: