/hap'hazērd/
Adjective: Lacking any obvious principal of organization.
Synonyms: random - chance - accidental - incidental - fortuitous
for . tu . i. tous
/fôr't(y)óòitēs/
Adjective: Happening by accident of chance rather than design.
Synonyms: accidental - random - incidental - casual - chance
I am a haphazard quilter. It didn't happen on purpose, but more by chance. Randomly. What else could it be, for me? I began my fortuitous jaunt into the world of fiber obsession about 14 years ago, in North Pole, Alaska. We PCS-ed (Permanent Change of Station, though the changes are never permanent!) there as an Army family in 1998, and quickly made many life-long friends. Including the one that--by a lucky chance--twisted my arm to take a quilting class. Make no mistake, it took a good bit of twisting! I had adamantly sworn (to myself and my husband) that I would Never Do Any Kind of Needlework. I loved quilts, and had many (made in China) around my home. But sew them? Not a chance. But, eventually, by chance. Because I really liked this friend. What I didn't know (and she didn't tell me) was that it wasn't a beginner class. Not Rotary Basics, or anything like that. It was a Sampler class, which assumed I knew what a rotary cutter was. Or a quilt ruler. Or any kind of thread other than what was on sale at JoAnn's. Ditto for fabric. And sewing machines. Hmmmmmmmmm. That is why, after several weeks of this class, I had a pretty funky quilt. Half of the fabrics and threads were good ones. Incidentally, instead of a full-sized quilt, like the lovely one my friend produced, I had one twin and one crib quilt. That looked pretty funny after they were washed. And so began my fiber rebellion. Although my fabrics, threads, machines (yes, plural) and many, many quilting essentials are now top of the line, and I have a whole room in my home dedicated to the chopping up and sewing together and storing of these wonderful possessions, I am still haphazard in my quilting. I've always hated puzzles, and really don't like patterns of any kind, in spite of having shelves and drawers full of them. And my first quilting class was my last quilting class (though several friends have shown me how to do some techniques). Which is why my quilts and quilted creations lack the perfection and visual appeal of those of many of my Quilty Friends (that is so a word!). When I start something, it's usually without much of a plan. Only in my head. And it just comes together as I go. Usually. I often end up with crooked seams and cut off points. I have even been know to discard projects altogether. This method doesn't always work so great, but it's my method. And they are my quilts. If you want to ride along on my crazy journey, welcome aboard. Just don't look too closely at my work. As my mother-in-law would say, "A man on a galloping horse would never notice."
