‘Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.’

I love this quote.  I believe it was said by Theodore Roosevelt –  others have said similar things.  I feel like I’m at my most creative when I settle down and deal with life, work, challenges, creative projects with this in mind.

Sew Mama Sew is holding the Great Pillow Contest. It’s pillow month evidently.  (Did you know that it’s also Bird Feeder Month, and Pet Dental Health Month as well? Who comes up with these things?)

I decided try quilting in script for the “Words to Live By” pillow contest.  I didn’t take many process pictures because I got into the flow of making.  But if you’re interested, here are some things I learned making this:

• Quilting in script freeform takes practice.
• Don’t bother doing the script in anything but cursive….Yes, the kind learned in 2nd or 3rd grade.  Block letters don’t look right.
• There are decisions to be made about whether or not to break stride and thread between words and crossing T’s and dotting I’s. After a trial or two with and without spaces between the words, I decided I like the continuity of not breaking thread. It makes the writing slightly harder to read but I’m willing to live with that for the art of it.
• I like script quilting better when it’s quilted over with another color.  I started with navy thread.  The lettering looked too stark and the areas where thread crossed looked way too dark. Stitching the letters a second time mellowed the look out more.
• Get a zipper that fits the pillow insert better than I did.  I was making do, but squeezing a 16″x26″ pillow form through a 9″ opening is a struggle. Luckily feather and down inserts are squishable and recover nicely, and the pillow form was inserted, but I wouldn’t recommend a zipper that much too small for future pillows.

I like script quilting.  Now that I’ve gotten a little experience, I’ll try stitching something longer in script as a quilting pattern.  A sonnet, a limerick, a haiku, or a song?