Spooky Basket: Meander.

It's 12am, and my brain is further from the thought of sleep than I care to indulge, especially on the dawn of a full days work--meaning early start.

I already popped my melatonin and await sleepy bliss.. but until then, I am positively swimming with passing thoughts, aggressive ideas and excitable anticipation. Not one correlating to the other, mind you.

Yeah, it's one of those nights.

Any other time, I oblige my sleeplessness because it's usually the only time when I can really push out my crafty delights before I inevitably crash.

Ok, I lied, maybe two of the above deal with each other...

On a lark over the weekend I decided I would start a quilt.
On Monday, I finished the quilt top.

A sneak peek from the weekend

This is my first time ever making a quilt, and I gotta say... it's definitely not as difficult as I've been led to think. I guess I could see how elitism could sprout from this sort of craft, and why there are entire shops and shows dedicated to quilting goods and materials.

I bought the book First Time Quiltmaking and I was able to dish out their most complicated pattern (granted, this is at a beginner's level) in roughly 24hrs-- give or take due to the breaks I took to work on other things.

I could've easily just have asked my boss to give me some pointers to begin my quilting endeavors, but you know me... I gotta learn "the hard way".
My justification? I can tell my friends and readers whether it's a good book to learn from, and it is.

If someone like me, who is terrible with math (even though I strive with all my heart) and pinpoint accuracy that leaves a lot to be desired, can learn to craft a decent quilt from reading just one fairly short book on the subject? Then surely anyone can. It's the cost of quilting that should be the bother... rulers, rotary blades, and cutting mats aren't exactly cheap. Then you have to decide whether quilting and binding it yourself is worth your time.
Binding is a four letter word; it's probably the most tedious thing about quilting and, for me, detracts from the pleasure of quilting-- I'm not alone either or there would not be such a demand for it in the shop.
Doing anything other than a meander on your own machine might result in tears of frustration. If you go to a professional long arm quilter you can have large silhouettes in complete themes!... Like I am hoping for mine (bats, spiderwebs and filigree). But then there's the cost of quilting it professionally... though, it's kinda worth it, and I'm not just saying that because I work at a fabric/quilt shop-- I am saying it because it adds such an awesome final touch to a quilt.

I'm not certain when I'll get mine quilted, as I am waiting for a window to open up at work since we're incredibly backed up by quilts that need that kind of treatment.

As for the book. It is great, but it is also very short. To judge the price of the book for the amount of content, I would say it's probably best to buy it used because you're not going to get a lot of mileage from this book before you're ready to advance-- and let's face it, leave it on your shelf to collect dust.
Now, if the intent is to make the reader lust for more quilting conquests in such a short and sweet way, then I'd say they succeeded because I am thirsty for more...