Postponing The Inevitable

I've shown this quilt top in progress several times in the past. After all, I've been working on it somewhere around a year or so. This past weekend I put the final stitches in the last few leaves on the border. I could have had it finished weeks ago but I kept putting it off one more day..next week..tomorrow. I'm not normally one to procrastinate but on this project I did. I think I just didn't want it to end. I've enjoyed doing it so much that I wanted to continue, or at least that's what I kept telling myself.

But the reality of it was more that I didn't want to face what came after. It has to be carefully trimmed and it really needs blocking. How in the world do I block a piece this size? I don't know and it will be a chore to figure that out. Then it has to be sandwiched and basted and I really, really don't do a very good job on that step of the process - I think I've just never learned it good enough to feel comfortable with it. Sometimes I just let my longarm quilter do that part for me. But this one - all that hand applique - no, I need to do the basting by hand. And it needs to be hand quilted. But before I can even get to the point that I have to figure out what quilting pattern I want to do and what thread I want to use I have to decide what to back it with. Do I put a batting in it? Do I use batting or flannel? How about the back - cotton, flannel, wool? Oh my head hurts just thinking of all the choices! And so, even though it didn't need much it took me a long time to take that last stitch.

I'm wondering if I do that in life too....put off what I don't want to face. I know sometimes I want to put things off, even when I can't! A couple of weeks ago I had a tooth start hurting. I knew I should call my dentist (a long time friend who would have gladly talked to me about it any time) and let him know what was happening. But I didn't. I didn't want to have to figure out what to do when I'm 8 hours away from the only man I want to be touching that tooth. :) So I waited until he called this weekend just to chat. He immediately got me a referral to a dentist in Lafayette which meant, since he went to all that trouble, I couldn't put off calling. :( Naturally I figured it would be a while before they could get me in but they were wonderful and gave me an appointment today. Despite my best efforts I'm going to have to deal with this issue!

Postponing the inevitable, or procrastination if I call it like it is, can sideline us if we aren't careful. Or me, it can sideline me if I'm not careful. Now I'm ready to start a new large project. Shall I embroider that redwork Winter Wonderland quilt? Or how about finishing the quilting on the wedding present quilt that I finished two months ago? Maybe I'll finish the border on the applique/pieced top that has been waiting about a year. Or maybe I'll just wait till tomorrow to decide!