Projects that take on a life of their own

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Beth Markel

The first week of January I had a complete knee replacement, and admittedly, it slowed me down some. I spent quite a bit of time sitting, sitting, sitting, some hand-stitching, but still sitting. Then more sitting!

After a couple of weeks (aside from PT) the inactivity was getting really old, so I tackled a pile of blocks made before the surgery but waiting to be pressed, and bless my DH’s Engineer heart, he set up a pressing station in my chair using a small travel ironing board. When I was able to walk to my studio and begin sewing last week, even for an hour a day, I had blocks to be assembled.

As a quilter, maker, artist, or even parent, you know that the journey is often the adventure, and this quilt has become another adventure for me. Much like my sister’s quilt of Mourning, which took on a life of it’s own, this has too.

I watch the news…chaos.

I listen to the radio…chaos.

I look at Washington, D.C….chaos.

I see pictures of Portland…chaos.

I hear about the mask debate…chaos.

It’s easy to become overwhelmed, so I sew, making a visual record and representation of what I see just about everywhere.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday this week:

I’ll continue to work on this until I think it’s done, and yes, that’s ambiguous at best. Originally I thought this would be a 36″ x 36″ wall hanging for our office, but it’s already 36″ x 45″ and I believe it will continue to grow…significantly!

Make something today, and when you can be anything you want to be, be kind.

Cheers,

Beth

<(((><