Officially Technological

So, I'm learning how to quilt. This may be the first topic ever that I have learned from reading the book. Mostly, in school, books were just high-priced folders that I used to hold all my notes and hand-outs from class (which is where I do about 98% of my learning). I am very pro classroom experience. I am definitely and audio learner. So, much so that unless I'm told something I very rarely remember it. I'm one of those people who can read something a million times and be dancing and singing on a flower covered meadow in my head and never remember it; and can be told something once and remember it for the rest of my life.

OK, so I'm learning quilting by reading about it. I feel like I've been doing it for years. I've read tons of ideas and different ways of doing it. So, many really clever ideas that only people that have been doing it forever know about. For an example (for non-quilters, I'll try not to use technical terms), well over half the quilting experience is actually quilting - or sewing the top of the blanket to the back. When you see quilts, this is usually what makes people oooh and aaah is looking at the intricacy of the stitching. Well, mostly people actually draw all of that on with pencils and then sew on top of the lines by hand (and sometimes machine if the pattern is easy enough). However, as you can imagine, pencil doesn't really wash out that well and then you have this amazingly beautiful white quilt with funky pencil lines all over it. So, one of the books I'm reading talked about pinning tissue paper on the top of your quilts with the pattern on the paper and then sew with the paper on and then rip it off when you're done. Isn't that clever? And speaking of quilting tools, it seems like someone out there should be making a killing packaging ordinary pencils as "quilter's pencils" or masking tape as "quilter's tape", but no one is! This is definitely a market that should be more carefully cornered.

So, last night after bike shopping, which was really fun (I found a bike, by the way, that I really like, here it is. Isn't that cute?? I love the leather on the handles and seat. Talk about stylin'!), Brian and I went to a fabric store (or rather I dragged Brian to a fabric store) and we picked out some fabric for my first ever quilt. It should be really easy. It's just squares, and really, I think I could tackle something a little more challenging, but I don't know for sure if I've learned as much as I think I've learned by reading books and looking at pictures. I did draft it myself, however, so I'm pretty proud of that. I guess I should look at it like this is my first quilt and maybe I should just try to make it happen and not worry if it's not the best thing I've ever seen in my life. Maybe I'll post pictures as I'm working on it.