The journey is more important than getting there. I think…

Do you ever get to the point when making something, when you just can’t see yourself ever finishing it? I guess this happens to everyone. The really, really self-controlled types (oh how I admire you people!) just knuckle down and carry on. Empires were built by the likes of this crowd. The rest of us drift on to something new and promise we’ll get back to it when we are next in the mood.

I mention this because I got to wondering over the weekend about the value of speed over experience. Do we want to complete quilts quickly so we can relish the results? Or is the pleasure of creating something with great care over months and years the driving force? Probably a bit of both, I suppose, which is why all the quilt makers I know have at least a couple of projects on the go at once, one of which is a fabulous heirloom-to-be piece.

I’m in the final throes of completing Great Aunt Hilda’s 90th birthday quilt (deadline 10th May). It was pieced with a jelly roll and machine quilted, so it was really meant to be quite quick. Huh! Not with me at the controls!

But when I see a cathedral window quilt, made by someone like Lynne Edwards, I’m consumed with a desire to make something that will cause even casual passers-by to rock back on their heels with shock and wonder (a girl can dream). Just look at these!

Lynne’s lovely book Cathedral Window Quilts will be available at the Festival of Quilts and from all good bookshops (especially the MyCraftivity UK and US ones) in July.

Best wishes

Jane