Sometimes when the imagination stirs, there is a vision of, a practice of giving a talk on the complexity of quilt making, the depth, breadth, styles, community and individuality. The talk speaks of hand and machine work, as interchangeable and complementary to one another. That there is something in these different styles, and the variety of techniques used to achieve the end goal of a quilt, making each quilt, and us unique. The imagination sees so much about the longing of my heart for us to see each other as quilt makers, no matter how we achieve the goal of making quilts.
The imagination wanders from quilt to quilt…seeing the first one I made, remembering the joy of giving it; later on feeling the anxiety and shame of how bad it was; and still later returning to joy and gratitude for learning how to quilt. Important to me conversations of encouragement, support, and guidance from quilt makers giving me the permission I so desperately sought to move in a different direction in quilt making. Feeling at once the guilt of moving from here to there, yet knowing that this is the path to follow.
The imagination sees walking out of the sewing room/studio in sheer frustration because what I wanted to happen wasn’t happening and I’m having an internal hissy fit (and most likely external). Every time the desire for something different comes along the imagination sees ways to achieve that goal, and ways to avoid achieving that goal. The ways to avoid achieving the goal are most of exercised as the solutions learned are solutions that might be passed on to other quilters and students.
As the talk continues in the imagination quilters are moved to make the quilts they’ve always dreamed of making. Yeah, I do have a vivid imagination. And a big ego thinking I can have that kind of impact on a wide range of quilt makers.
Exploring the images that these paragraphs evoke the personalities of quilting styles, the personalities of quilt makers, each different, each unique, each holy. This quilt making connects us to a larger community. We nourish and feed each other. Occasionally we cat claw each other with a ferociousness that startles a person like an extremely violent clap of thunder. As quilter makers our ability to criticize our own work is mind boggling. Mind. Boggling.
Earlier this week reading Cravings so much spoke to my heart, and mind. When I read Mary’s post on Getting Beyond the Dieting Delusion. The goal this week is to keep a journal taking note of what you’re eating, what’s going on when you’re eating, to help you be mindful. Are you stressed? Are you bored? Are you feeling less than? What’s going on?
For me this week a promised deadline had me up late nights, and early mornings. I finished and all in all, even knowing where every single flaw is, I’m happy with the end results. Being overtired, and stressed, and wanting (needing) to do a good job just sent me over the edge. To say that I was aware of stress eating would be an understatement. I will say that overeating wasn’t so much of an issue, as eating on the fly, not drinking enough, sitting too long. Toward the end I made a few changes I drank more, stood up more frequently, allowed my muscles to contract a bit more. In a word: kinder. I took time to be kinder to myself.
In the same way I want to be kinder to other quilters from those just beginning to learn what this is all about, to those working in various areas of the industry. I want to be mindful of so much from the similarities and differences, and the beauty that resides therein. I want to be mindful of and kinder to myself.
So here’s to mindful prayer, mindful eating, mindful quilting, mindful faith, mindful hope. Here’s to going where ever God is leading. Listening for the clues, and letting the quilt imagination wander and inspire the quilts needing to have life.
God bless,
Teri
A Quilter's Heart 