Here it is, hanging over our stair banister, all complete.  Today’s task is to sew the backing (it’s the same fabric as the “fans” just up from the bottom on the very right) and take it over to Cathy, my quilter.

There’s a nice rhythm to piecing a quilt like this: rows and rows and stacks and stacks of squares slide under the presser foot to become a bed covering.  I like the complex quilts, like the Christmas Star.  I also like more artsy quilts like Provence (Lyon Carolings is the real name), where the play of fabric becomes the focal point.

Piecing a one-patch is kind of like vacuuming the house, I think, but certainly in a more enjoyable way.  It’s not fancy, nor particularly noticeable, but when the whole house has been vacuumed it gives off a certain pleasure of being clean, ship-shape if you will, or perhaps even just being done for another few days.  My life has lots of corners like that.  Getting the make-up on when only running a few errands outside the house.  Cleaning off the computer desk.  Finishing a good book. Writing daily in the journal.

It’s the acculumation of patches that makes this quilt, just like it’s the accumulation of tiny tasks that make up a life.  None seem particularly noteworthy on their own, but the bits, pieces, squares, and patterns make the whole.  Make it complete.