I went upstairs last night.
I turned on my extra side light.
I turned on the machine.
I watched Antiques Road Show until I couldn’t stay awake.
I turned off the machine.
I turned off the extra side light.
I went to bed and, hence, to sleep.
(For the curious: If I had meant that I actually did quilting somewhere in there I can pretty much assure you I would have mentioned it. LOL Sometimes knowing when not-quilting is the best choice is the better part of the process.)
I have subscribed to Robert Genn’s newsletter for like forever, but today’s was especially good:
First off, and contrary to what I’ve said before, plans can actually derail the voice-finding process. Further, you have to know what you mean by “voice.” Voice in style is different than voice in cause. Ideally, style develops over time. Cause is based on attitude and issue. With growth and development, causes change. A predetermined voice shackles creativity. To find your very own voice, I think you need to have a few things going for you:
You need to make stuff. Artists who put in regular working hours find their voice. Work itself generates clarity and direction. It’s like invention–one thing leads to another.
I’m a little fuzzy on a) why he changed his mind about having a plan and b) what voice in cause is.
So I’m going to climb into bed with my newly arrived FiberArts magazine and ponder this. Or something like it. Or look at the pretty pictures.
If you want more info about getting this newsletter yourself go to The Painter’s Keys Website
Well it’s not really so “quasi” because some progress still counts as progress. Allow me that moment when I hang up the in-progress quilt, step back to admire both the quilting and the progress and… wait, where was I quilting again? How much or little did I actually get done? oh.
Damn. Our old adage of smaller isn’t easy or fast* is totally true here – and entering a new area of work takes some care in order not to create a new area requiring un-quilting. Some extra pinning is not time wasted – a few pins parallel to the seams helps quite a bit.
But still. Damn. Part of my brain is always taking roughly dividing the amount of unquilted surface by the number of days available and going… damn.
Must.find.more.hours.
* Fast isn’t always easy. Easy isn’t always fast. Smaller isn’t easy or fast.
