I need to enjoy the journey
Posted on July 19, 2021 by Beth MarkelI’ve been working on this ‘Chaos’ piece since back in October, 2020, since that’s what I was feeling. Every day, there was election chaos, Covid chaos, people on fb saying things they would never dream of saying to somebody’s face, so social media chaos… I needed to express that I was feeling overwhelmed no matter where I looked.
Now, what seems like a l-o-n-g time ago from my starting point, I’m making the push to finish this work. In the past month I’ve made more than 780 blocks that will be 3/4″ finished.
So counting and sorting gives me a pretty good idea of how many blocks of 12 x 12 I am able to make, as well as getting my cutting table cleaned up and less chaotic. As I was counting the smallest units and putting them in piles of 10, I realized that I was focusing much more on the goal of finishing this top, and much less on the journey of making it. I had turned a corner somewhere in my thinking and approach to this piece of work.
Textiles, quilts, baby quilts, art quilts, knitting, weaving, needlepoint, woodworking, even gardening and photography – whenever I work with my hands I love the tactile nature of it. Working with your hands is honest, even when we use tools from a needle to a spade to a camera. Until I slowed down and counted what I had made, I was focused on the goal of finishing.
With all of the work of making these small blocks, and the (seemingly) million decisions that have gone into it so far, I’m now slowing down to enjoy the making of it without feeling overwhelmed. I actually stepped away from my studio to go to a quilt shop. A real-life, full of people and glorious fabrics, bundles, patterns, books, machines, thread, and ideas – Decorative Stitch in Shelby Township, Michigan. It was awesome – this is one of my favorite shops, as their fabric selections are vast, and right up my alley, including an entire wall of solids. Lovely shop, lovely staff, lovely experience every time I go in!
Refreshed and with a better attitude, I’m off to the studio now to sew a lot of small blocks together. I’m once again going to enjoy the journey of making.
Cheers,
Beth
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