The Plan

The Plan is to weed out all the fabric, ideas, projects, etc. that I had worked on or considered for the past ten years and lay them to rest.  So I got rid of all my scraps, except for the red ones (red were the fewest, and someone requested a red and white project so I kept them).  That project is in progress, so all I have now are blocks ready to be quilt tops and quilt tops ready to be quilted.  It's a very comforting place.  I have a SMALL box where I am putting new scraps.  I no longer feel overwhelmed.   I went from being an addict to a functioning addict.  This is a better place.  I am not going to stop.  I may as well take Aristotle's advice - "Know Thyself!"
I also dug into a scrap project made from three scrap bags I bought at the Glorious Color stand at the New Jersey Tri State Quilt Show.  I had kept these separate because they are solids and a very different texture than my usual quilt fabric.  It's my first attempt at working with solids, because prior to now they couldn't hold my interest.  These homespun cottons are a joy to work with and the contrasts are great.  I didn't use the pink in the blocks, but I used all the others. 

    Stay tuned.  I probably have enough for a large lap sized quilt. 

Falling Off the Log Cabin Wagon

Okay I got a little out of control about two years ago, when I saw this quilt.  I have old quilting magazines, and binders where I keep ideas, patterns, etc.  And this always made me look twice.  Sparrow and magpie is an antique store in New Mexico.  They were featured in a magazine (don't know which one, I cut out the page) and I loved the quilt in the lower left.

 So I got all my reds, yellows, creams, mint greens and all my very dark fabrics (black, deep burgundy, midnight blue, forest green, brown, etc) and I made over 270 10.5" squares.  Totally manic.  Took me over a month (December 2011).  I love the movement of log cabins, but I always settle on a zig zag pattern and (I thought) this was artistically debilitating since there are so many other avenues to explore with the log cabin.  Always, when I get like this, I tell myself, "This is my last log cabin".  Always, I fall off the Log Cabin Wagon and begin a new one. 
 Also, I must admit, this project was to purge the stash-laggers.  I had been quilting almost a decade, I had collected all kinds of fabrics that I didn't love, but were useful, or came with a medley, or seemed like a good idea at the time.  Another inspiration for the quilt I eventually created is this painting, on a cover of a book about Charles Sheeler.  I will talk more about Sheeler in another blog; I am influenced by him.  He's a Philly boy and has quilts hidden in his still lifes - so fun. 

Well, I just need rid of the mania created by these log cabins.  There were so many of them, and they had their own personality.  So I sold them, gave them to the Quilting universe, somewhere out in the Pacific Northwest (excellent quilting karma out there!). See how many there were!  It's ludicrous!  Who does that?!  I think I just wanted to distance my self from the manic quilting behavior pattern.  In my defense they were over a year old.  I have made a little bit of progress or at least I'm moving in that direction.  Or at least I am aware I have a problem.  It's my drug. 

When I was done I laid a few out to see if the contrast really was there.  I mean there are SO many colors.... would they really have any PUNCH?  I made a wall hanging sized quilt top, and put it away.  It was going to be bigger but I prefer the snapshot of movement the zig zags create.  The brain knows what the colors are going to do; why not just give it directions instead of laying it all out; "don't deny or rush the visual journey".  So I created this wall hanging, and quilted it last week, to give myself closure.

I must conclude that the color scheme is effective.  The contrast is lovely and striking.  The blocks looked a little wonky but now that they are quilted-in whatever visible wonk they have adds character and drama, and I don't think it detracts from the quilt - I love it. 
That is where I'm going with my quilting, I think.  I want to love it.  I learned everything I need to know, and now I want to love it.  If it turns out I love scrappy manic piecework, I will follow that road.  If it turns out I want to create something more polished and predictable as far as visual impact is concerned, I will go there.  The sure thing, is that we (in quilting, life, etc) are rooted in tradition.  Tradition is the place to start. 
Incidentally, I have fallen off the wagon again.  This time it's red and white.  Stay tuned.

Perspective

Lately I've been trying to put my quilting life into perspective.  Perspective implies there is an ideal, or you're working from a balanced model.  Maybe perspective is the wrong word.

It's occurred to me that if I live multiple lifetimes I may never run out of ideas and projects I want to tackle.  So now, after ten -twelve years of quilting, I've learned everything I want to know, and I've met every challenge.  My technique is as good as it's going to get.  I'm not sure I'm as developed as I want to be as far as style is concerned, but that leads me to the question, "What kind of quilts do I want to make?"  My kids are older, and my social options have improved, I'm also wondering where should quilting fit into my life. 

If I hit the lottery, and get a giant loft with a large machine quilter, wall space, floor space, etc. what would I choose to do?  As it turns out, that is not the situation at present.  I don't have enough floor or wall space to lay out all the pieces of a large quilt.  I just don't have it.  So I'm taking the rest of the year to downsize, and finish all my open projects.  Also I have three quilts I want to make from start to finish as gifts. 

I took all my scraps and sold them on craigslist.  Cheap, in one big sell.  They were in my way.  I always thought to make the diverse scrap quilt was proof of an evolved stash.  I have an evolved stash, and now that I am a fabric snob I really didn't want anything but the good stuff.  It just wasn't important to me anymore.  I've earned the expertise to be particular.

I had separated all the scraps by color.  I made projects out of the off-white/beige scraps.  That was enough.  I saved the red because I had the least red and I have a plan for them.  Enough.

I always wanted to make a star quilt and there was a great pattern in a magazine this spring.  So I did it.  I didn't choose the colors according to what I loved.  I chose "contrast that I had enough of".  This is bad.  Life is short.  I shouldn't work on anything I don't love.  I don't need the lesson.  There is not a fine line between "I can do alot with this fabric, it's an excellent mixer" and  "I love it".   The line is clear.  I have something I really enjoy looking at, but do I want it on my wall?  Who do I want to see it?  It defines me.  I had framed it.  The magazine didn't have it framed, and I was equally not in love with the color choices in the magazine, although it was attractive.