Traditional & Steady

I am one of the most boring people I know! I have lived in the same city almost my whole life, been married to the same man for almost 23 years, lived in the same house for 16 years, and worked at the same job for 13 years (except maternity LOA's)...predictable, reliable, stable and boring. That's the way I like it!
I am always making large bed size traditional quilts, like the one I worked on yesterday. This quilt began in a mystery quilt class at Reichards in the spring. This is a photo of one of the blocks.
I always have projects waiting for me in plastic bins, all the fabric, pattern (if there is one), threads, etc together in one place. Some of them are just waiting for borders and quilting, others are waiting for me to finish sewing the blocks. I finally finished the blocks and sewed them together. I haven't decided what this quilt will become...deciding between a large wallhanging for the dining room (probably not) and a lap quilt for my mother-in-law who loves flowers and gardening (all the fabrics are florals...not my "thing").
I find that repetitive sewing on traditional blocks is very soothing and relaxing. There is no designing to do and no decisions to make. It is a great way to calm down after work or before bedtime (I often sew late at night). And in this way it serves a purpose in my life...however it is boring after a while.
That is where the quilting excitement comes in! The only place in my life where I take risks, do crazy things, waste time and resources, and do not have a plan of any kind....is in quilting!
Tonight I am working the night shift (on call) and hope to have a quiet night so I can read my new Quilting Arts magazine and decide what new technique I will try this month.
From the last issue I tried the technique of painting with tissue paper. I even had a whole day of painting with one of my quilting friends.
This was the result, and I call it "Reaching Out". It has little gold people in the netted pods...it's bizarre and not like anything I've made before but it is growing on me! I left the tissue paper on the top and quilted over it. As a result, it is very fragile and starting to rip on the sides...I won't do that again!
Well...Let's hope it's a quiet night at work so I can plan my next crazy experiment with quilting techniques...it's the only excitement I get!!