bobbin

i've had a long standing metaphor in mind around quilting.  for those of you who don't have first hand knowledge of the pastime, take my word for it, there's quite a lot of time for your mind to wander.  hours, in fact.  that's one of the things i love about it, the daydreaming time it affords me, disguised as productive creativity.  

this week, however, i am being forced to take another look at my metaphor in light of my recent 'progress' on my quilt.  i guess i have to explain where i'm starting before i dive into this monkey wrench.  i'll try to make it quick. 

in short, think of the entirety of the quilt as a relationship between two people.  each stitch of the quilting itself as a moment shared between the two.  some quilting is intricate and beautiful and some is routine and functional; but nonetheless all the stitches are needed to hold the two sides together and create dimension and beauty.  there's lots more to it, related to the piecing and the blocks, and sashing... but for now, the quilting stitches are what matter.  

when i first learned to sew with a machine, i was most curious about the function of the bobbin thread.  having sewed many buttons and hems by hand, i understood the general in-the-top out-the-bottom mechanism of that.  but the bobbin thread in my machine was foreign altogether.  

it makes sense though, when you really think about it.  the bobbin supplies a second thread that the top thread loops around. essentially, this looping is what holds the fabrics together...almost like a knot, but without the knot.

because the top thread is looping around the bobbin thread and this 'knot' is visible on the surface of the fabric, usually the two threads are the same color.  this creates the most visual continuity and has the best chance of your stitches blending in. 

but, that's not the path i have taken on this particular quilt.  i am using a white top thread, because it is most attractive on the pieced blocks and white sashing.  and i have been using a navy blue thread on my bobbin.  the bottom fabric on this quilt is dark and the blue fades into it nicely.. even with some interspersed dots of white thread showing through.  

this is the first quilt i've made for myself and my fifth quilt over all.  i love the fabrics and had them picked out for six months before i finally chose a pattern and purchased them.  since i moved into my new house a year ago, i've forbid myself from purchasing any new bedding with the hope that it would motivate my completion of this project.  

so, while mom was in town over the weekend, i did in fact pick my unfinished project up, spread it out across my sewing table, and do a bit of work.  i'm in the fun and loose stage of free motion quilting the squares and had established a design that i planned to carry throughout all the blocks.  while we sat and talked monday, i knocked out a few blocks fairly easily following the pattern i'd established...i thought to myself, this isn't so bad, a couple blocks a night for a week or two and i'll be done.   

then i spread the quilt out to admire my handiwork and realized i'd lost my mind temporarily, interchanging the patterns from the white blocks onto the solid blocks in half of the squares i quilted.  not even all of them - then i could pretend it was intentional.  but half of the squares - and not the same half on each one - were mixed up.   sigh  

yet, the quilt is still beautiful.  perhaps even more so for the irregularities that only i, and those i choose to share with, will ever notice.  after all, i will always be able to remember exactly when i sewed them and that my mother was a few feet away distracting me with laughter and conversation.

sometimes moments don't happen the way we expect.  they go outside the lines and defy all reason.  they follow no established protocol or pattern.  and yet the bond is more beautiful because of these wild stitches.

then last night, i picked up my quilt again.. thought i'd put a few more squares to bed while todd was on the computer nearby, keeping me company.  i rectified my pattern confusion and sewed a couple of perfect blocks before my bobbin thread ran out.  when the bobbin is empty, all sewing ceases.  the top thread just lays across the fabric loosely with no semblance of a seam.  i quickly changed the bobbin and resumed my productive creativity, finishing up the square i was on and another one.. and part of another one -- oh fuck.  

my head hit the sewing table, while i cursed into my hands.  todd spun around from the computer, what's wrong, mom?  i lifted my head and showed him the reason for my despair.  the underside of my quilt showed every stitch of my recent bout of productivity:  in white.  on dark blue.

i spread the quilt out on the bed, with a pit in my stomach.  todd tried to reassure me, it's not that bad, nobody will see the bottom side..  but i will.

i spent the next hour and a half removing every beautiful, errant stitch with a tiny seam ripper.  well, i say, every stitch, but really i have three quarters of them left.  it takes much longer to undo what is easily and carelessly done.

a lesson i'd much rather have learned else wise.

d:  more careful attention to the stitches i place
b:  slowly and gently, i am repairing the damage done
g:  finding the beauty in the unplanned and unexpected creations