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.
