Do you ever have a quilt that comes out to be worked on but gets put away before it's finished? This was me and my relationship with Emily Dennis' Night Stars quilt.
First let me say, this quilt is amazing! It's absolutely beautiful and it's not hard to make. The reason it kept being put away was totally on me.
I started creating this soon after opening my online fabric store (lilytoddfabrics.com). I saw this pattern and fell in love with everything about it! I loved the blues and yellows in the sample quilt on the cover and had the perfect fabrics in the shop to make it. 
As things got busy in life, this quilt kept being brought out and put back, brought out and put back. Because my sewing room also holds my business, the cutting table is constantly turning over between orders and projects of mine.
This April I decided enough was enough and took the time to finish the last 8 blocks I needed to finish this quilt top. I was so excited to see the completion of this quilt top that I started 15 months ago! Then, when I was squaring up my blocks, my ruler slipped and the rotary cutter kept going and ended up taking off almost 1/2 inch more than what I needed. My heart sunk. After 15 months, I felt deflated.
In addition to the rogue rotary cutter, I started to notice another glaring problem.
Since beginning this quilt, I've made around a dozen other quilts. My sewing abilities and piecing skills have grown with every quilt I've made. Which is awesome...but now I was staring at some blocks that, although okay, the points weren't lining up like my newer blocks were. (I also think I missed some trimming of blocks along the way.) I didn't want to redo blocks and cut all new pieces because I knew that meant I'd put it away again.
In the end I had to take 1/2 inch off of all the blocks which changed points and the way I had envisioned this quilt looking. But, I needed the blocks to be as uniform as possible.
I'm sharing this quilt because it's not perfect. But you know what? It's still a beautiful quilt. I smile because it holds the past of a newer quilter learning her new sewing machine and it also holds the skills of a quilter who has developed better techniques and knows her machine well.
Too often we focus on perfect-looking quilts on social media. I fall in the trap of comparing my skills and quilts, too. So, here's me being vulnerable and sharing my creation of a quilt that's not perfect. She's glaring in imperfections, but she's glowing in her realness and beauty.
I encourage you to always keep on quilting. If you have a project that's sitting in a bag/box somewhere, started ages ago, get it out again and plug away at it. If you have a project that’s not going together exactly how you envisioned, keep going; it’s enough to just be creating.
I can't wait to put the finishing touches on this quilt, to begin my next project, and to see what you all are creating.
Pam
Quilty Love - Night Stars pattern available in the store. https://lilytoddfabrics.com/products/night-stars-quilty-love-quilt-pattern?_pos=2&_sid=024ded416&_ss=r
Throw Quilt Kit also available. https://lilytoddfabrics.com/products/night-stars-quilt-kit-quilty-love-throw?_pos=1&_sid=024ded416&_ss=r