Mom visited and helped me get so many projects done. She transplanted cactus and moved rocks, painted and held the ladder for Jason (aka ladder talk,) prepared food and cleaned the kitchen- what a dream! And now she’s finished the quilt.

It’s a log cabin style quilt top from Nan Nan, my grandmother. I bought material for the border and started pinning and quilting it all together with the help of our friend Aunt Bev.

I am a perfectionist and an overdoer. I keep quilting and quilting- more! More! As I begin another layer of stitches, the fabric starts to feel more stiff than I want. So I stop, but now the stitching is not symmetrical… I consider quilting more on the other edge or all the edges but it’s already too much so I hesitate to continue.

I lie the quilt across the couch and step back to look at it. As my eye wanders, I see the little yellow square in the center of every single larger square …except THAT one, yes, that one- right there smack dab in the middle of the quilt. That yellow square is not in the right place! It should be kitty corner to it’s current spot. Did they notice that it was off and place the incorrect square, square in the middle on purpose? Is this a sign for me to stop being a perfectionist? Will the quilt still keep me warm if the stitching isn’t symmetrical? Does this run in the family?

When I trim the quilt sandwich (front, batting and back) before the edging is added, a couple of corners are too short in the back. Instead of making the border thinner, I scrap together one of the last shreds of fabric on hand to extend the shorter corner. Lesson learned- I’m scrappy, not perfect!

Now mom has come to visit and we are getting the sewing machine running again. Lord keep that bobbin in the case! I print out the necchi manual and show her how to sew on the bias, like Bev showed me. Then we iron and sew the edging onto the front of the quilt.

Finally, mom pins and hand stitches the edging to the back of the quilt as we sit on the couch and talk. Axel comes over from next door and helps her put the pins back in the stuffed tomato.