It Came Together Piece by Piece 

 

I first made one of these more than 20 years ago. 

The quilt was pieced together by small patches of fabric cut from pants that had been worn, and sometimes worn out, over the years. 

 

It came together piece by piece with the corners tightly joined, aligned and held with thread as if it was meant to be in place forever. 

 

What started out as stacks of fabric then became rows and finally columns before a final layout of a large denim quilt were before me. 

 

I could see the worn spots and the slight stain from grass here and there. 

 

Perfect additions to a large quilt that came together. 

Piece by piece. 

Laid out on the floor then sewn, edged, backed and quilted. 

 

The memory of making this piece quilt makes me smile as I look at it even now.

I wonder how I knew how to put it all in place, get the squares in order and then do it? 

Perhaps it was talking to those who had created before me? 

 

Did I talk with a family member or friend? 

Let’s think about that while we move along. 

 

Now there are directions on how to do this. It includes Your First quilt – beginning Tutorial, part 1. Step by step with video and audio instructions. Pretty cool help for each moment, right? 

 

Did you know? This could have been helpful the next time I worked on this type of quilt.

 

Here’s the rest of the story. 

One of the quilts I made, piece by piece.

You see here one of the next quilts I made. It came together piece by piece.

 

Same process with squares of fabric that was going to be less than half the size of the first one. 

 

A quick project. 

 

Lickety split. Let’s do this! 

 

I had all of the fabric laid out in the design I wanted. 

The corners were aligned. 

 

Pins were in place to keep the edges tidy. 

Rows? Check. 

Columns next? Check check? 

Yes! Let it begin.

 

 Remember that I have made one or two of these before. This was going to be quick. 

 

Then the sewing began. 

 

The first row of corners stayed in alignment. So did the next row. 

 

Whew! 

 

Okay. The rows were complete, and it was time to get onto the next. 

I do like it when it comes together piece by piece. 

 

Take a look at the pattern here.

Do you see the blend of colors and types of fabric in this quilt? 

 

The same squares of fabric were used in each row and then adjusted to give a slight alteration in the pattern. 

 

Perhaps it is different than you have seen before, or it may be similar to other piece quilts. 

 

Truthfully, it is how this quilt came into being. 

 

Here is what happened next. 

The fabric would adjust under the pressure foot.

As the columns were being aligned, the fabric would adjust under the pressure foot of the sewing machine. 

 

I would readjust the fabric and sew the squares again. 

C’mon little squares, you can do this.  

 

Remember that this is going to be the quick and easy project. 

 

On it went. 

 

Fabric was aligned, then it would wiggle under the pressure foot and I would look at it. 

 

Hmm…

What to do. 

 

The corners were sometimes crisp and tight and then there were others that were not matching even with pins holding them in place. 

 

Decision time. 

 

What would you do? 

I sat back for only a moment. 

 

This is life. This is how goes at times. 

 

Sometimes the corner is going to be in place, the fabric is going to stay in place and the pressure rolls right over that corner and voila! 

A neat and tidy outcome is seen. 

 

And then, there is what happened to part of this piece quilt.

Look closer.  

Do you see parts of the quilt that do not have tight matching corners? 

 

Perhaps you gasped or nodded your head in understanding. 

What happened here? 

What is there to do about it? 

 

Are you ready? 

Here is what I decided to do. 

I kept going, my friends. 

 

The fabric I used to create this small quilt was still loved. It came from clothing that I had worn and worn out. 

 

Corners were still going to be there even if they were not aligned. 

I knew what my intentions were. 

My focus and effort were the same even if the outcome looked different. 

It came together piece by piece as I adjusted my eyes.

It came together piece by piece even as I adjusted my eyes, and even my vision of what I was doing, to see that it did not need to be perfect for it to be complete. 

 

There have been times when life has taken me through this same process of learning. 

 

I then asked myself what am I going to do? 

The answers come to this each time. 

Know my intent, stay focused on the things that I love about what is before me and know when something is complete for this time and space. 

 

When have you found a piece of this in your life? 

 

How did you keep going or are you in that space now?  Perhaps we can do this together.