Stitching today is a solitary enjoyment. We work in our living rooms or sewing rooms with tv and audiobooks for company. It wasn't always that way. Prior to tv, women would stitch for entertainment and stitch in groups. Those quilting bees may have been practical, but they sure sound like fun too.
Guilds and classes provide the camaraderie that can inspire us today and help us expand our stitching repertoire. I am lucky to be a member of a great Brazilian embroidery guild that meets once a month. Unfortunately, I am not working on the guild project for this year--an ambitious Christmas sampler. I had too may other projects already begun.
But, I missed working on a communal project, so I signed up for pumpkin class. We are using a Crabapple Hill pattern with a variety of surface embroidery techniques. Pumpkin class will last six months. In January we learned how to paper piece the crazy quilt panels. February through May we will stitch and in June we will assemble the pumpkins.
I've always wanted to work on a crazy quilt, but this is my first attempt. Instead of cotton, I'm using a combination of real and synthetic satins and velvet. I probably will design my own motifs in addition to using some of the ones in the pattern. That's the fun of going crazy! I'm not expecting it to be a masterpiece, but I do hope to build on some skills that I developed during our last guild project--a crazy quilt Brazilian pattern. It was a project I adored. I'll feature it next week and update you with more on the pumpkin as I make progress.
Happy stitching!
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