MY STORY - chapter 6

My Story - Chapter 6

I was very happy to be moving back to the United States. You come to really appreciate everything we have here when you live in a foreign country for awhile. Nothing against Canada, it's a great country too, it just wasn't home. I had reached the point where I needed to be home.

As for Christer, well, that was a horse of a different color. He was born in Finland. When he was a young boy, his parents immigrated to Canada. He spent most of his growing up years there. So this would be a reversal of our living situation. We had a mountain of logistics to wade through to get him a green card to be able to live and work in the U.S. Then, on top of that, our son had been born in Canada, so that meant even more paperwork.

Needless to say, it was a complicated and difficult move. It seems like each move we have made over our married life has been exponentially bigger and more difficult than the last. I guess that's what happens when you have kids and acquire all the necessary paraphernalia for life. And just let me say, I know how to collect sewing paraphernalia!! I have always had an enormous stash, I guess I could be considered a "fabric hoarder".  I have boxes of nylon tricot!! Remember nylon tricot and lingerie ?!?!?!  Yea, well, I have lots of it. It makes great quilts too, by the way. In fact, that is what my grandma made a lot of her quilts out of. (you could get it 120" wide, no piecing) My stash boasts swim suit fabrics, fashion fabrics, upholstery fabrics, tapestries and sew much more! The list goes on and on.  If it's fabric, I probably have it. :)

Beside fabrics, I have a propensity to collect machines too, and gadgets, and tools, and lots and lots of supplies. Ribbons and laces and threads, oh my !! Boxes and boxes of sewing supplies had to be packed up and hauled. Of course all that paraphernalia requires cabinets and furniture to store it all in. Furniture is another one of my "collections."

In our Colorado house, I laid claim to a large corner in the unfinished basement for my sewing room. I don't remember if that room ever got finished. As soon as it was divided off and electrified, I moved in and set up. It was so full of fabrics and supplies and equipment that I'm sure you couldn't see the walls anyway. :)

I am a mulit-tasking seamstress. I am always sewing on multiple projects at the same time. I sew everyday, even if it's only half an hour, but it's usually more. When our kids were little I spent many a night sewing all night long.  It was the only time I could sew uninterrupted. Of course I paid for it the next day. Chores still had to be done and kids had to be taken care of, but that didn't stop me from repeating the pattern for many, many years. Today, I'm a bit too old to do "all nighters".  Instead, now and then I do a half night sewing frenzy.  (ha ha ha)

It was in the 80's that I started making small "craft" items to sell in earnest. I made lots of fun little kid clothes & things, dolls & stuffed animals. I also made blankets and the occasional "comforter" quilt. My quilting experience, remember, was mostly "comforters" and baby quilts, tied or hand quilted. However, I did do some machine quilting even back then. When I made a quilt, the bigger the pieces of fabrics, the better. But I was starting to discover, on my own, a little bit about pieced quilting for a specific design, building a foundation for my experiences ahead. It wasn't until years later, when my sister showed me examples to look at and patterns to read that I really started to understand.   But way back then..........................

Christer loves trees, (we affectionately call him the "Lorax"). I wanted to make him a quilt with a big appliqued tree, king size ! I never do anything in a small way. OH MY GOD !!!  It was awful !!! If any of my appliqueing friends ever saw that quilt top, they would get a big hardy laugh !!!! I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I have never been afraid of a challenge, and I am pretty good at figuring out things as I go. But I should have found a book on Applique for some detail instructions. I guess if I were to try to describe it, I would call it a "Mola technique in reverse". Instead of cutting out the layers of fabrics, I was layering each piece over the last to the point of 6 and 7 layers thick !!! At that time, I didn't know you cut each piece out and fit them together on a carrier fabric. Oh well, I didn't know what I didn't know. Many times, ignorance is bliss, I was having a great time making this horrendous thing. I found that quilt top a couple of months ago when I was cleaning out some of my sewing drawers. :)  Maybe someday I'll figure out a way to fix it up enough to use as a giant wall hanging, or maybe not :-{