I bought a bunch of hunter green fabric in 1992, when hunter green was really popular. I was going to make a quilt for my dorm room with it. I started the quilt. I was not very good at this at all, and all my blocks were very different sizes. I got discouraged, went back to school, packed up the pieces to the future quilt and put them in a Rubbermaid Tub.
The Rubbermaid Tub sat under the tables in my Mom’s work area for about a decade. Then she insisted that I take it. I didn’t forget about the quilt; I just procrastinated DOING anything about the quilt because I was intimidated.
In 2002, I decided, dammit, I’m going to finish the stupid quilt. So I made 12 Ohio Star blocks, totally abandoning my original design. I added white fabrics and some more greens (though the teals and hunters of 1992 were out of style ten years later, so I supplemented with more summer greens and knew I’d have to find a way to force them to go together — enter the log cabin blocks…). Then I made log cabin blocks with all the different greens, with purple triangles in the corners. I pieced the quilt into 5 22″ wide strips that I’ll quilt individually by machine, and then attach the strips together. It will be a king-sized bedquilt when I’m done.
It’s been ready to layer (meaning — fully pieced, and just waiting until I basted together the quilt sandwich [quilt top, batting, backing] so I can quilt it) for over a year.
Today my mom and I layered one of the five strips and hand-basted it together so I can quilt it. And we also layered and pin-basted the abstract quilt that I’ve been working on. I have another hand-basted quilt in the closet, ready to go.
I feel a Finishing Frenzy coming on. My biggest goal for the year is to finish the blasted Green Albatross that I started in 1992. It’s going to be a beautiful quilt when it’s done, but GOD. Thirteen years now?! What is my PROBLEM?!