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.