The Schoolhouse Quilt was delivered! It turns out, It is Sally's birthday today,
so it was an extra special surprise!
Thanks Sally, for the featherweight machine, and for being a great librarian!
I hope you enjoy your new quilt!
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My studio is clean!
I have been thinking a lot the last couple days while I cleaned my studio,
and I look at the 15 or so, projects tacked up on my studio walls, and think,
"Am I nuts? "
"Why do I work on so many at one time?"
I make a mess of my studio, I'm unorganized... (except for my FABRIC!)
it feels chaotic, and I don't live in a chaotic way... I avoid chaos at all cost.
AND THEN! someone posted about,
"Is it the process of making or the final object"
that makes quilting your joy?
I realized right then, the ONE thing I have always known,
is that I need to MAKE. Anything. J U S T M A K E.
Whether it's drawing or painting, gardening or cooking,
I am all about process, and trying new things,
I am all about process, and trying new things,
And pushing the creative limit (for myself)
it gives me the biggest joy,
and usually after I finish a quilt, it doesn't feel the same to me anymore...
and I am on to the next...
That thought, alone brought me a lot of joy instantly...
That thought, alone brought me a lot of joy instantly...
I certainly don't think that everything I do is interesting or exciting,
Sometimes they don't, and that is OK.
But when they work, and in the process,
You hear angels singing and life is good,
So I try to keep that flow.... I am happiest when I can create.
That is the purest joy.
Jackie is coming tonight for the weekend, so I thought I should make room for her!
That's the reason for a clean studio. ;-)
Well, we also have the NYC METRO MOD quilters group Saturday,
and then a girls night dinner Saturday night...
(gotta make GIRL TIME, that's also good for the soul)
So all the more reasons to get my pig sty cleaned up!
Besides, the quilting, it's the community of friends that have grown from spending
every waking minute creating quilts.
The friends I have made, while doing something I love,
Tell me how this is not the greatest part of the whole quilting experience?
Who knew, that when someone sends you a small envelope,
you open it, and you find this? Your whole day is suddenly a bit brighter...
(Thank you Helen!)
Now that the studio is clean, I'm itching to make it a mess again..
Sometimes MESS is not Chaotic after all!
So which is it for you?
Process or Finished Product?
Hope you find your JOY today!
Thank you Andie for inspiring me today.
How serendipitous was that, that it was her birthday when you delivered the quilt? Fantastic!! Okay, I am finishing packing my bag. I wanted it to be smaller than it is, but there are lots of goodies packed. I can't believe your studio. So looking forward to seeing you very soon!
ReplyDeleteIt's the process for me. If I had to wait for a completed quilt in order to feel any joy, I'd be a sad, sad girl most of the time haha. It takes me so long to get to the "finish line".
ReplyDeleteI love the schoolhouse quilt! Every time I see it (in progress or finished), I notice the border around the little schoolhouse block looks like a row of books. How perfect.
Jackie, see ya soon, call when you get to Grand central...
ReplyDeleteRachel, yes, i had one ft quarter of BOOK fabric bought last JUNE for this purpose,but it took me that long to get inspired! lol!
What a wonderful birthday gift. It's the process for me. I love seeing the things come together starting with the person I'm gifting. I need to buckle down and work on something for me. I'm thinking queen size. Oh I love my verification is comentin like commenting!
ReplyDeleteI think it's a combo of process and final product. It is all about being creative and exploring new things within fabric---who wouldn't love that right?!!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Your studio looks Very lovely:)
what a wonderful studio! have fun for your girl weekend with Jackie and the quilt group - sounds like such fun! Would love to meet Jackie one day, I have been reading her blog for several years now and exchanging notes with her.
ReplyDeleteKaren
http://karensquilting.com/blog/
One of the best things about blogging has been finding people that express exactly what is in your heart. I 100% understand this post. I hope it's a wonderful weekend beginning to end!!
ReplyDeleteI am going to say...BOTH! I thrive on the process, but I love seeing the finished product and knowing it cam from that process and my own hands. Love that Sally got her quilt on her birthday! Have a very wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteIt's the process for me! Once in a while, I gift myself with a finished quilt.
ReplyDeleteI love the picture of your daughter with her librarian. They both look so happy.
She will definitely treasure it forever!
In a nutshell ~ YOU SAID IT ALL!
ReplyDeleteIn my world I have to have the process, I enjoy each step from concept to drawing to picking each fabricm ( I love the feel of good fabric), to piecing and quilting and binding. There are so many steps and I seem to love them all. Very rarely do I live up to my expectations, but I have found that I like projects when I go back later. I just visited a baby I made a quilt for last summer and when I saw the quilt I had done a much better job than I thought. I guess I love the final product and each step in the process.
ReplyDeleteIt must be process cause when I'm done with it I give it away. I have none of my own quilts here but UFOs. (Maybe that's why I'm not working on them - I secretly want to keep them...)
ReplyDeleteHi Victoria, process has always been my joy of quilting, which is why I began hand piecing ten yrs after I learned to fly my stuff through the sewing machine. I find that the meditation time I like to have to ponder and piece is best for me while hand sewing. Kind of like the rhythm of knitting !!!I do like my sewing machine but I really enjoy Jinny Beyer's and Linda Franz style of quilting . Your quilts are always interesting to me especially your self portrait quilt as I once mentioned! Izzy
ReplyDeleteIt's the process- the challenge to myself...but also the look on someone's face when you know you got it right and made them happy...a bit like a little note from a freind to just make you smile! friend's and sharing, that's what it's all about for me...and that's why your blog and bee are such fun...makibg new friends! Thanks, V.
ReplyDeleteOh the whole process, from the spark of an idea to the finished article, even if it takes decades! And if it doesn't get finished, that's ok, it's just not it's time! Have a wonderful fun, girly weekend!
ReplyDeleteWhat quilty birthday magic. Isn't it great to find out you're so in tune, without even knowing it? I have a secret theory that quilt-making helps with that.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it's the process, for sure. I do like finishing things. But when I pressure myself to finish, it feels like work. Being in the process helps me ease up on myself.
I know the quilt is loved but somehow I think the greatest joy is in the giving. I got a good little giggle out of the dots note. Oh my...have a wonderful weekened with Jackie and friends. I feel very satisfied with a finish but I truly love the process.
ReplyDeleteWhile I enjoy having a final product, it is definitely the process for me. I love the process from beginning the design, selecting the fabrics, figuring out how things will go together, and piecing. I am learning to really enjoy quilting. I even like the quiet process of hand stitching the binding. I have worked in quite a few different media during my life, and it has been the process for all of them. Making something new and different from the original components is what it is all about for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm a both person too. There is usually this a-ha moment when I see what it has become that really makes me happy. The creating is sometimes like meditation mixed with inspiration (with an occasional bit of frustration!) The process of creating grounds me!
ReplyDeleteWithout any doubt: the process. I often lose interest when I'm almost done and see the result no matter how much I like the project, ready to move onto the next one.
ReplyDeletePROCESS PROCESS PROCESS...i enjoy, as I am sure you do...turning my space upside down as I look for the right combination to go with my ideas that spring continually. I must say, that often times its the planning that i enjoy the most. Then when its pieced, pinned and ready for the next step. I am ready for the next idea.. and often times must push myself to complete...perhaps when the free motion goddess shines my way, i will be much easier. but for now that is the tension that wells up...right as i begin machine quilting. so then i have to turn to a cocktail ha...most often a glass of wine mixed with seltzer...smiles. cocktails and thread forever...smiles.
ReplyDeletethat quilt at the top is GORGEOUS!!! The colors and the simple pattern are so effective together.
ReplyDelete