I can’t believe that it’s already time to do my year in review post. From being showered by roses and realizing that it wasn’t enough, camping for the 1st time in many years, and going from two dogs to one, the year was one of growth. It sure whizzed by in a hurry.
Do you remember the running-themed quilting round robin?
Well, MY block arrived on my doorstep completely transformed. I am now left to figure out the best way to finish off this project: my inspiration towards my Boston Qualification goal. I’m leaning towards a wall hanging.
Special thanks go to:
This round robin was a little stressful and a lot of fun. Thanks ladies for letting me work on your quilts. I am truly honored.
Back in May, when Brit first emailed to ask if I’d be interesting in doing a running-themed round robin, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. Somehow we each managed to creating a starting block (pun absolutely intended) and mailed it off Mia.
Each month the mailman would deliver another package that I would open up with both excitement and fear — because there is no telling what sort of masterpiece will arrive. I would then have one month to hopefully add to the blocks specialness and mail it off at the end of the month.
I struggled with Brit’s block because I know and love her and really didn’t want to ruin her creation. Keeping in mind that whatever I added would be buried deep beneath everyone else’s addition, I decided to keep it simple. In retrospect, it was TOO simple. All I could think of was that I didn’t ruin it.
Then Lady J’s quilt arrived. Other than Brit mentioning her a few times in her blog, I know nothing about Lady J. I stared at here quilt nearly all month trying to figure out what to do with it. Brit had embroidered flowers that were running in the top right corner and I wanted to finish off the square by embroidering something in the bottom left. But I could NOT figure out what to embroider. No sooner than when I got an idea, would I shoot it down with reasons why I that idea would not work. I thought of doing a finish line theme…but didn’t know if Lady J actually raced. Over and over this occurred until it was nearly the end of July. That was when I realized that I didn’t even have enough of the purple fabric to finish off the bottom in the same fashion as Brit had done the top. Finally, I came up with this.
The grand finale was Mia’s block. I’d seen pictures of it posted here and there but you really have to hold this quilt in your hands to appreciate it’s creativity. The story that accompanied the quilt brought it all together all the more. The evolution of this particular block as it moved through the round robin was remarkable.
More than anything, I wanted my addition to bring the focus back to the original piece because Mia put so much of her story into this block that I felt it was important to highlight just that. I cut the fabric samples that Mia started with (the ones that symbolize her journey) into squares and created a simple log cabin design to run along the outside border. There was only one problem: the accent fabric was running low. If I kept to my original design, I would run out before adding to each square. Even after I settled on strips half the size of my original intention I realized that I would not have enough to finish out all of the squares. I also would have to use less squares.
Well, the less-squares idea did NOT come together nicely. It didn’t come together at all. As it turned out, I needed ALL the squares to finish off it off properly. Unless I found a way, this would be likened to running 13 miles but not the final 0.1 mile. I was not about to earn a DNF on this project.
I grabbed the remaining scraps of fabric and carefully sewed the pieces together. There was a lot of breath holding going on. Prayers too.
I’ve made quilts in the past but, truthfully, I am not much of a quilter. I was pretty apprehensive about participating in the running-themed quilting round robin. Ultimately, after Brit’s coaxing but gentle emails, I did agree. 
Each participant creates their own block which then gets pass on to the next person at the end of each month (or so as the case may be). The next person then adds to the block they receive and, at the end of that month, passes it on once again.
I spent the majority of May in search of an idea for my block. I wanted something that would talk to my quest for Boston — which ultimately has served as a symbol for persevering against the many challenges that life hands you. Of course, given my limited sewing prowess, it had to be simple.
After much thought, I set my sights on creating a block with a simple race bib as the center point. I think I will add pins to the corners when it is finally done. As for the number I chose, #261 is simply the number which Katherine Switzer wore in 1967 when she paved the way for women in marathoning. Katherine’s refusal to drop from the race showed the world that women are not fragile. Seriously, doesn’t childbirth alone show how strong we are. Nonetheless, #261 is symbolic of not only my determination to achieve Boston qualification but also the determination and strength which I have discovered following my husband’s death.
Mia had my block in June. I love what she’s done to it. It now looks like this.
As for Brit’s block, which I received mid-month thanks to her spaz of a postwoman. Once more, I spent nearly all of the month in search of some magnificent plan for it. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, magnificent is not me. Simplistic is me. Given my limited sewing ability, it was good that the only idea entering my head was to extend her creation by adding fabric to highlight the change from sky, to trail, to nature.
This is how it came out. Although, my initial feeling was that I had to add something fancier to it, I am now glad that it didn’t. Mia, who will receive it next, has grande plans for it which she shared with me via email. I cannot wait to see how it turns out because if does sound perfectly “Brit.”
Soon, I will be receiving another block. This one, the creation of a perfect stranger who, I must say had no idea who she is trusting her quilt with. Like in June, I am sure that I will pull out a whole lot more hair trying to come up with a way to add to it, while not ruining it.
Life is a journey and, for me, running is a huge part of it. Just like a great run, it has easy and tough parts. It is beautiful at times and ugly at others. Hopefully, I will reach the finish feeling good about what I have accomplished and leave a long trail of bread crumbs to show, those that wish to know, where I have been.
