SUPER WOMEN (AND MEN) !!!!!

FYI ...... even though this is normally that bad-word TAX day April 15, your taxes are not due until APRIL 18.  Don't ask me why, as with any "government" action, there's never a good answer.

Today's blog is about people with skills.  If you know someone who quilts, they are definitely a SUPERWOMAN (or man)!  I'm not there yet, I'm just an apprentice, but I know MANY who have made the grade and deserve a big HIGH FIVE from everyone they know!!

You may think quilting is just lots of wasted time in a fabric store, followed closely by some grumbling and late nights staying up trying to finish projects.  I'm here to tell you that is exactly true .... and THEN some!!

You have to be a master of color, have amazing taste in fabric, infinite patience and sewing skills beyond imagination.  All these things make quilters SUPER, whether women or men!!

It took me THREE days to cut out the pieces for this quilt.  There are 40 different fabrics, a few having the same design but different colors.  I had to cut that fabric into 16 different shapes and sizes, while keeping every stack numbered.  Being an accountant helped, but trust me, you need to be a mathematician to figure out how much of each fabric you need.

Lucky for me, most of the fabric was already figured, I just had to cut it up.  40 unique fabrics to make 50 squares, each containing NINE pieces.  You do the math!  It then took me another two days to finish just four stacks of ten with only five pieces each.  That's when the problem reared it's ugly head!!

The pattern forgot to mention cutting the last four pieces for the FIFTH stack of 10!!  RATS!!!   I scrounged around in the scrap pile until I found enough leftovers to finish the last blocks.  WHEW!!  The mathematician on this kit must have been an apprentice like me!!

You also have to have amazing and PRECISE sewing skills, not to mention IRONING skills.  Who would have thought ironing would be a skill??  There's a certain way to iron each piece as you attach them together.  Get it wrong and nothing is square or the correct size!!  Superwoman I'm telling you!!

By the way, organization is another skill stacked on top of everything else.  In the 50 squares for this quilt, no two fabrics should be duplicated in any square.  Figure the odds on THAT!!  I'm pretty sure quilters would make great bets on horse racing!!

After five days of work, I have ten squares done, with another 40 to go, and I haven't even mentioned the actual QUILTING part of it where you put the backing, batting and cover together.  That's another set of skills that I don't want to tackle.  I take mine to the experts!!

So the next time you run into a woman or man who quilts, give them a BIG high five!!  They are super women and men with amazing powers and skills beyond your imagination, who make wonderful blankets to keep you and your family warm and cozy!!  HIGH FIVE!!!!!