THE ART OF REVERSE SEWING

The most dreaded term in the world of quilting is “reverse sewing.” This is a euphemism for ‘you messed up and have to rip out all the stitches you just completed’. While usually easy enough to accomplish, it’s aggravating and is sometimes accompanied by a few self-berating words.

I seem to be plagued with more incidents of reverse sewing than I remember having in my previous quilting eras. There are three main reasons this happens: 1) my sewing machine automatically starts in a default stitch position that I do not use and I frequently forget to reset it before starting, 2) I stitch the short ends of the pieces together instead of the long ends or vice versa, or 3) I stitch the wrong side of the fabric to the right side instead of the right side to the right side.

Despite the “extra work” I create for myself, I managed to get three projects done in May.

First, I wanted to contribute something to a Silent Auction for a Youth fundraiser at church, so I finished a table runner I had previously pieced and quilted. I just needed to add the binding.

I tend to not follow patterns. A lot of my quilts are made up as I go. The result of this is I bought fabric with just the hint of an idea, not knowing exactly how much fabric I would need since I don’t know what direction I will end up going. Now you know one reason why I have so much material right now.

In 2009 I made a queen-sized quilt called “Barrel Star” for a friend who competes in barrel racing at rodeos. With the leftover fabric from that quilt, I made this top:

I also have material from the Sweet Baby Jane fabric line left from a quilt I made and sold in 2007 called “Spring Treat”. I made this with the leftover fabric:

Can you believe it? Despite making these two quilt tops, I still have enough fabric from each of these collections to make yet two more quilt tops!