Strawberry Fields for Breakfast

I have been reading a lot of quilting books lately- my natural inclination when I learn something new is to start with books. I’ve gone through a good portion of the shelf in the library, and probably need to buy this one, “Japanese Country Quilting” because I have checked it out three times, now.

Introduction to sashiko embroidery/quilting.

 I have hesitated admitting I’m learning to quilt, actually, because I already knit and garden. Quilting makes it the little old lady trifecta. (A thousand pardons to any of you reading this who do all three and don’t think of yourselves as little old ladies. Just wait until you take up geneology, and start using phrases like “a thousand pardons.”)
I’m working on a baby quilt which is kind of a pattern sampler of Japanese stitches in dark blue.  The quilt itself is whole cloth, instead of being patchwork. It is pale blue on top with a yellow flannel backing. My greatest hope is that the baby-to-be-named-later chooses this as his favorite blanket… For hand quilting, it hasn’t taken as much time as you’d think, and it is certainly easier to rip out when I make mistakes. When I have tried to machine quilt, it just goes too fast, and I lose control.