The blog post for this block was originally going to be about the Y-seams required in the block construction. For those that are not in the know, a Y-seam is just what it sounds like … it’s where three seams intersect at a single point, and form a “Y” shape. This block has two of them; and they are the first that I’ve encountered in this project.
It turns out that Y seams are a lot easier when hand piecing the quilt than when using a sewing machine. When stitching a regular seam on a sewing machine, you generally just keep going until you run out of fabric. This is problematic for Y-seams, where if you kept going, it’d look more like a pitchfork than a Y. Sewing Y-seams on a machine is a stressful endeavor, requiring stopping on a dime and re-positioning everything before moving on.
With hand sewing, you have plenty of time to see that fork in the road (or in the Y-seam) coming, and course correct. This is one of the things I love about hand piecing: the snail’s pace. You just mosey along in a low-stress fashion, adjusting as you go.
Since the hand-pieced Y-seams were pretty easy, I spent most of the time on this block thinking about why I make the quilting choices I make. So, I was thinking about the “why” instead of the “Y” (see what I did there with the homophones? I love wordplay!).
The “why” had been on my mind ever since I posted my previous article (about how I was not a fan of the fabric for that block) in a Facebook group for people making this quilt pattern. One of the group members asked why I would use a fabric I didn’t like in my quilt, and I explained that I was trying to honor Paulette’s original vision for the quilt. The group member told me that was silly, and I should make the quilt with fabrics I love instead.
Nobody likes being called silly (unless, I guess, your objective at that time was to be silly). So, being me, I spent the ensuing week questioning everything about the entire project. I do love a good bout of introspection. Also, hand piecing moves so slowly that it gives you plenty of time to think, or even overthink, things.
After a week of mulling this over, the end result is that I’ve decided I’m happy with my project decisions. Someone (Paulette, at least) liked this fabric enough to buy it and use it. I feel like it’s “wise” (third homophone … the wordplay in this blog post is out of control) to be open-minded and try to see things from another person’s perspective, even in quilting.
Incorporating a fabric I think is ugly into my project broadens my horizons and challenges my creativity. Can I embrace the fabric and use it in a way that makes it appealing to me, or at least helps it blend in? It turns out I can, and voila, I’ve grown as a person and a quilter.
Clearly, my journey with this quilt is unique, and my path is not for everyone. But it is most definitely for me. To paraphrase Robert Frost, when I get to that fork in the Y-seam, I’ll continue to take the seam less traveled.
Betsey, when I was quite young I made a Suffolk Puff quilt with my Grandma. It was made of all sorts of scraps and donated pieces in the colouring of my bedroom (purples). There was one particular fabric that some relative gave my Grandma that was an end piece from a bolt of fabric (he worked in an upholstery factory). This fabric was particularly ugly and I didn’t like it at all. My grandma and I talked a lot about it and whether it belonged in the quilt at all. In the end we used it, but only for a few puffs. Anyone looking at the quilt would not have even noticed it. I always noticed it, but rather than thinking about how ugly it was , it always reminded of the process my grandma and I went through to decide to use it. There were many conversations as the quilt was made but the ones about that fabric stick in my head. The fabric was still ugly (trust me) but it became quite special to me.
What a lovely story, Wendy! And this is just what I was trying to convey. Yes, it’s not fabric I would have chosen, but it’s part of this quilt’s story, and I just feel like it’s so important that the fabric be in there, a part of the quilt. You’ve inspired me to not feel silly about including it. I’m only going to use it in the one block though … it is pretty ugly.