Each quilt I make has hidden meanings that only the person who receives it will know – and sometimes even they don’t know! My meanings and stories are mine, though, and it’s up to the recipient to keep or create the meanings that make sense for them. If I have made a quilt for you, know that I kept you in my thoughts while I made this quilt, and sometimes I will share how my thoughts came through.
This blog is a WIP (Work In Progress), just like everything else in my life. Quilts have come to symbolize so much for me that I’ve decided to bring some of that here to share with you. I hope you will use these symbols and ideas in your own way to create a life that you can love too. A Pieced Together Life.
Here are a few things I have learned through quilting. I’ll keep on piecing this list together, it might remain a UFO (UnFinished Object) forever.
- Perfection is highly over-rated. Striving to improve, though, can be exciting and satisfying. The problem with perfection is that we get stuck on the process and never get to an outcome. There is no perfection. Unless it is the perfection of putting your full attention into a project to the point of everything else falling away from your consciousness. That, to me, is a perfect way to spend a day!
- The quality of materials matters. Use the highest quality of materials you can afford. The quality of my thoughts matter just as much. Fortunately, thoughts are free and you can choose only the most nourishing and supportive thoughts at any time. As Wayne Dyer and Louise Hay would say – change your thoughts and you change your experience of life.
- The quality of materials is not everything. If all you can afford is pieces of fabric or clothing from the second hand store, a beautiful and serviceable quilt can still be pieced together. If your batting is an old blanket, it will still be warm. If the backing is also pieced together with scraps and worn out clothing, it will still hold the quilt together. With your thoughts, the same applies. If you’re having trouble coming up with happy or helpful or peaceful thoughts, that’s ok. Just work with what you’ve got right now, and continue to do your best.
- The quality of tools matters. Use the best you can afford – but that doesn’t mean you need all the bells and whistles. I have seen amazing works of arts made by cutting fabric pieces with a pair of everyday scissors, and stitched by hand with a needle and thread or by a straight stitch machine. Ultimately the most precious tool you can use is yourself – your mind, your hands, your eyes – and I assure you that you are made of high quality stuff!
- Learn from others – AND trust your instincts. There are lots of theories on colour and fabrics – not necessarily rules. And we all know that rules are meant to be broken. The quilt police hang out with the tooth fairy and Rumpelstiltskin, they SEEM to be real, but they only exist if you allow them to. If your quilt has an odd colour combination, that’s ok – as long as it is the combination you needed it to be. Sometimes we get a request from a child that includes things that we wouldn’t necessarily put together. The result is still beautiful and will be loved.
- Quilting with friends is awesome! If you haven’t joined a guild yet, look for one near you. If there are none near you, join a virtual guild. I quilt with friends over zoom several days a week – it’s very similar to quilting by hand, gathered around a large frame. Quilters are good listeners, and quilting is an excellent time to soak up the wisdom of experience. Whether it is advice about where to find a special piece of licensed Batman fabric, or how to deal with the emotional upheaval of an ill spouse, quilters hold each other up as well as our quilts do.
- We are born creative. The more we use our creativity, the more creativity we have. It’s magic! If you think you are not creative, then start with patterns that others have written. Nothing wrong with following a well marked trail. When you see something that calls to you from off the trail, give yourself permission to follow it and see what evolves.
- Mistakes are only made by people who are doing things. If you never make a mistake you never get to learn or discover new things. Then again, the second or third time you have to rip a block apart and re-sew it because something was upside down, it can get kind of frustrating! Mistakes teach us patience and compassion. Another great reason to quilt with friends, because that compassion sure is welcome!
