Garden of Stitches

By: Jill Finger

Sep 22 2015

Aperture:	f/2.4
Focal Length:	4.12mm
ISO:	50
Shutter:	1/0 sec
Camera:	iPhone 5

For several years, Cathy and I hand buttonholed these flower quilt blocks. The pattern is from a book called Garden of Stitches by Lisa Bongean. We were each working on our own quilt and the rule was we could only work on it when we were together. So, every Thursday when we went to our quilting group, we brought along flowers to be buttonholed. It’s surprising how much hand sewing can be accomplished in about an hour and a half. The only glitch was that Cathy plays golf on Thursdays in the summer. I had to find some other hand work for the 17 weeks she is absent, which is not a problem, but the work on the flowers halted. We figured this had been a 3 or 4 year project–we can’t remember exactly when we started it.

In quilting, it’s the process, not the product, even though the product at the end is nice. We had them quilted by our friend Eileen in Connecticut and she did a beautiful job.

Cathy’s quilt is made with more country colors, so they look very different, even though the pattern is exactly the same.

Now, the dilemma is to come up with another Thursday night project. We have a couple of ideas for small quilts, but they will finish rather quickly. I want one to sink our teeth into.