Michelle's Mystery: Fun with Fabric

Hello all! I hope you've had a chance to finish Step 1 of the Mystery Quilt! It took me a few days, but I finally got all of the fabric cut for the first post.

To be honest, this is the first quilt in a long time. Shortly before my baby was born ("the grandson") and I was able to do some projects when he was in the play area or napping, but when he hit the "mobile" stage and started terrorizing the pup, I had less time and stuck more to stitching and needlework, projects that I could pick up or set down on a moment's notice.

Now, I have a very active 3-year-old, who lives by the motto, "let me do it Mommy", and I'm not sure I want to introduce him to rotary cutters and sewing machines before he is old enough to go to college!

But I decided that a mystery quilt would be the perfect, step-by-step, project that would give me small goals in set time periods and then maybe I wouldn't overwhelm myself.

So this past week, we focused on cutting ... did you cut your fabrics?

I have to say, cutting for me is the most enjoyable part. I know you'd think it was the part when you are sewing and watching it come together, or when you complete it and see your goal accomplished, but think about it. At the cutting stage, you are the one point where the possibilities are endless. You stand there at the cutting table, rotary in hand and a stack of fresh, new fabric ready to be molded into some peice of history. Yes, history. Something that you created with your own hands, that is ready to create a million memories as you share it with friends and family who come to your home, and when you pass it from one generation to the next.

When I was pregnant, all I wanted was to use quilts and afghans made by my mother, grandmother or great grandmother, because that was a time when every moment could make a new memory. The first kick, the first turn, the tangle of your feet in a blanket when you try to rush to the bathroom with morning sickness. (So they were not all good memories ... UGH! Morning sickness!)

My husband was in the military and we were on the opposite side of the country from both of our families. Those quilts and afghans were the only link to them sometimes.

So every time I stand there ready to cut fabric, I imagine all the moments that could turn into memories. so, this week was the birth of a witness to many memories yet to be made.

What is your favorite quilt memory? I bet you have a few just bubbling at the edge of your heart ...