Joyful Daily Stitching
Posted by Valerie Bothell on Oct 13th 2017
Excerpt from the introduction of Joyful Daily Stitching, Seam by Seam: Complete Guide to 500 Embroidery-Stitch Combinations, Perfect for Crazy Quilting by Valerie Bothell
Joyful Embellishments, 41˝ × 41˝, by Valerie Bothell, 2017
Several years ago, I went through a fairly tough time and decided to challenge myself by making a crazy quilt in which every seam would have a different stitch combination. I started with a center section composed of nine pink blocks. The quilt kept growing with the addition of a bright green border with sixteen blocks. About six months later, I decided to add an outer purple border with 24 blocks.
At first the project seemed overwhelming, but I decided to think about it in smaller increments. I am very goal-oriented, so I did the math. I realized that if I did one seam a day for five days a week, I would have a little over 250 seams done by the end of one year!
As I stitched on my blocks every day and completed the goals I had made for myself, the tough time faded away; my heart began to heal. I also ended up with a beautiful crazy quilt composed of 49 blocks and 500 different stitch combinations.
It is my hope that, as you make your way through the stitches in this book, you will find joy—and healing, if needed—by taking the time to do a little stitching every day.
—Valerie Bothell
