The Spirit of Bling

Getting back into my quilting studio proved difficult—OK, impossible—when I first returned to Vermont after my Mom died. But last night, two and a half weeks later, I felt ready to spend time in my personal fabric headquarters. So I finally got started on the bling bags I'm making for the jewelry we're gifting from Mom.

I'm healing and adjusting. I'm ready.

I chose to use this dusty pink solid fabric for the interior of most of the bags. I have enough to line 24 of 32 of them.

This pink fabric became a thorn in my designer's eye when I used it in the log cabin (alternative pattern) blocks in my book, Teach Yourself Visually Quilting from Wiley. The blocks were built of pink and purple fabrics (yep, I had Mom in mind when I did them) so this pink solid seemed like a good choice.

The blocks were cut and sewn then photographed. When I checked out the photos, I realized that this pink was the wrong choice. Its solid color and dullness (it's too gray) make it stick out among my other choices in the quilt. Now every time I look at those pages, all I see is that "damn pink."

But, of course, I created Mom's last quilt from blocks I had left from the book. She loved it, lots. So that "damn pink" now carries a great deal of sentimental meaning.

Ironic twist, isn't it?

But that doesn't mean I have to use the stuff unaltered. Nope, in the spirit of bling, I bought some stamp pads with pigment, not ink. I also selected some fabric-paint pens, one full of glittery purple stuff that's now my new favorite crafty item. Then I rummaged among my small selection of stamps from Christmas cards past and found an M (originally for Merry but now for Marcia) and a star.

About two hours later, that "damn pink" had morphed into "that damn pink with bling added." A marked (oh, you will please pardon the pun) difference.