OK so we went to The Quilt Nook

I bragged yesterday that my pal and I were going to town but we were not going to any quilt stores. So I was wrong. As it turned out we went to The Quilt Nook! We completely enjoyed ourselves! No we did not spend a lot of money. We did have a wonderful time. I think part of it was that we had not been to any quilt store in a very long time and it was wonderful to just look at all of the terrific fabric, tools and books. There was a time when quilt stores were hit a few times a week and the stash was added to on a regular basis, in fact I did not bat an eye at dropping a few hundred dollars for fabric that I did not even have plans for. It was just buy, buy, buy! Now we are on a fixed income (and it is a very low fix) I have to be very selective what I spend money on. The strange thing is I tend to enjoy quilt stores more- maybe because I truly LOOK at what is available. I only purchase when something is really necessary. I did buy sewing machine needles  I purchased two packs and actually got a third pack free. I also got two packs of nickle squares that are Cival War prints for my english paper piecing project, they were on sale as well. I really enjoyed myself though far more than when I just went in and purchased willy nilly! I have noticed several changes in my attitude concerning quilting lately in fact. When I first started quilting my boys were small and I was on a limited income, all of my quilts were from scraps either from my sewing or those that people gave me when the learned I quilted. There were not quilt stores as we know them today. All of my pieceing was by hand as well as my quilting, but I found a great deal of joy in those early quilts. I discovered peace in the rythm of my sewing needle. For the last couple of years as I churned out dozens of quilts (many of which are stored as tops because I lost interest and never quilted them) I noticed that joy seemed to be missing! I thought maybe I had "outgrown" normal quilts, so I was very into "art" quilts for awhile. I still enjoy putting together those type of quilts, the freedom of design but they have never given me the joy that an old fashioned bed quilt can. Somewhere in the rush to make every quilt one could imagine I lost touch with myself. Somewhere in the excess I lost the pleasure of the process. I discovered this quite by accident a few months ago when I was sorting through fabric and quilts. I felt I needed to get rid of some of it. I came across a couple of quilts I made a long time ago but I could not part with them even tho they are worn and frayed! Then it came to me, I had loved making those quilts, loved using them and loved looking at them. I was so pleased when they were done and yet I was sad too because they were done. I realized while looking at those old worn quilts that it was the process I enjoyed then. I was in no rush to complete them I just enjoyed working on them. So now I am only making quilts I truly want to make, I take my time while I consider what I want to do. I don't choose a pattern or fabric because it is what everyone else is doing, I choose what I love not what others say is the newest. The result is I am back in love with quilting, those tops that are not quilted will be and they will be shared with someone who really loves the color or pattern. Most important I am finding peace in my quilting again.