Bethleham star

If I finished every project I'd ever started before starting the next one, I wouldn't be able to make the things that I do now nor have the ability to do them. This UFO is from a class with an amazing teacher, Val Moore. Australians know and love her very well. It's a variation of a cover quilt from a Quilter's Newsletter magazine a few years back.

This is as far as I got in one year. There is a lot of embroidery in the applique. There is still another border of roses and rose hips and another very narrow pieced border after that section is done. When I get back to it, I'd like to change the arrangement of the applique that's to go in between the star points. There's no doubt that this is a big project to tackle.

Sometimes the term UFO brings up negative thoughts and even though I have quite a few of them, that's not my way of thinking. I worked full time and had a young family and huge garden to take care of. When I started quilting, I tried to take classes whenever I could. I would have walked on broken glass to learn how to make quilts.

Some I've finished, one top was even thrown away, some languish in a cupboard, but every single class I ever took gave me the skills and knowledge to pursue what I wanted. I loved all the lessons and classes but I didn't necessarily love everything I made.

The quilts I finish are the ones that give me joy to work on because for me, it's the journey not the destination. The quilts I choose to make are the ones I have to own or the ones I want to make and give away. If I see a quilt to put on my list to make, it'll be because that's the only way I'm going to own it.

I hope you all remember to embrace the joy of quilting.