The Write Stuff

Back in the early days of my quilt making past I had very few tools with which to work and I collected them slowly and judiciously. My sewing space, when I was a newbie quiltmaker, was a semi-finished corner of our basement. I had a sewing machine down there, a formica-clad kitchen table, chair, iron and ironing board; it was everything that I needed to work for a few hours in the afternoons when our son was taking his nap and our daughter was in elementary school. Oh, how I recall the excitement of working on those first quilts in that dedicated, yet barren, space! I remember ordering this woven wicker utensil caddy from the Miles Kimball catalog, it seemed to be just the perfect thing in which to store and organize my quilting tools: #2 pencil, 1/4" tape, shears, sandpaper, cardboard for templates and ruler, I planned to place it on the back side of that worktable. Back in those days (1983) the ordering process was a bit more drawn out: filling out a paper order form, enclosing a check and mailing it off, then eagerly waiting weeks to receive the order in the return mail. It didn't take very long at all for my ever-burgeoning collection of tools (marking, cutting, gadgets and gizmos) to outgrow the wicker organizer and yet, it has stayed on the desk in all of my sewing rooms and quilting spaces ever since; faithfully organizing (sort of) this, that and an odd assortment of pens, pencils, markers, highlighters, scissors and junk that defies a space of its own-- the WRITE stuff. It has been falling apart, bit by bit, for years and I've been looking the other way. Last week I dropped a pencil in one the front compartment and it fell straight through to the floor! (See circled area above) It had served its purpose; sadly, it was time to move on.

Two days later I had a replacement (thanks, Amazon!): something sturdier and more reliable to hold essentials. So much has changed in the years since I began equipping a sewing space, it's almost mind-boggling; and, yet, the excitement for making quilts hasn't waned. I love thinking back to making those first quilts and how it all began. I'm grateful for friends that I've made along the way and how far I've come; but I wouldn't take anything for those early days and the road that got me here. This week, it simply took a piece of worn-out wicker to remind me. 

If you're interested in my very first quilt, and the story behind it, you can read an old post here. 

Life is Good!