I can see a lot of life in you

I love being inspired. I really do. I feel like it doesn't happen often enough, not because there are not amazing things around me, but because I get stuck in my own little world and forget to cleanse my pallet so I can experience things in a little purer way. What am I rambling about? Natalie Chanin! Last week I read an article in Stitch Magazine about Natalie Chanin, founder of Alabama Chanin and author of Alabama Stitch Book. Everything Natalie designs and creates is handmade, as in hand-sewn by folks living in Florence, Alabama. Hands. Needle. Thread. Fabric. Simple as that.

Reading this interview made me realize that I'm not connecting enough to my sewing. What a thing to realize right before I begin quilting a queen-sized quilt to go at my parent's house at the beach. Hand-quilting is out of the question--beach things need to be able to go into the washer and dryer without worry. Also, Christmas is only three weeks away--nowhere near enough time to do this thing by hand. So on the machine, it goes.

As I started sewing though, I began noticing the fabrics in the quilt in a way I had not done since piecing the individual blocks. They are such beautiful fabrics (yes, the one you see in focus is an older Amy Butler fabric...I swear I sew with more influence than just hers!) and I had nearly forgotten how much I liked each one.
The result? Probably nothing noticeable. However, I quilted this big queen-sizer with a little more joy than expected. Hopefully my parents will feel that when they curl under the covers.
--ellen

PS--The Post Title comes from a great song called "That Dress Looks Nice on You" by Sufjan Stevens.