Trunk Show Prep & a Quote for the Day

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For the things we have to learn before we can do them, 

we learn by doing them.        

Aristotle


I think it's really healthy to take stock of the progress one makes on their creative journey from time to time. Like so many things in life, that retrospective process is often put aside in favor of the tasks at hand. Those consuming activities bring us joy and fulfillment but they can also stir up frustration and discouragement. Sometimes we just need a little perspective.

I've been given the opportunity to get that perspective, and it's come in the form of an invitation to speak at a quilt guild about my work. So, I'm gathering up my thoughts and choosing quilts to share for a trunk show (lecture) in May. It has made me a stop to appreciate the stages of my artistic evolution. 

Lord's Snowfall (10/2015-2/2018)


The presentation will start with early hand appliquéd and hand quilted pieces. It will gradually move to the last quilt I shared in this blog. As you can see, my work has come along way!  

Textured Terraine (10/2023-3/2024)

The most obvious difference between these two quilts is the artistic expression, but the thing that is relevant to my quote choice is the duration of project execution. "Lord's Snowfall" took two years, four months to complete. By contrast, "Textured Terraine" took approximately six months, and a good part of that time I was waiting for the delivery of some replacement floss that had to be special ordered from Turkey. Even adjusting for the fact that the first quilt is queen sized while the second is about half that size, I'd say that over the last 8+ years my proficiency has improved, . . . a lot. Which is really great, 'cause I'm still loving these techniques and excited to keep realizing my ideas in fabric.

But I am still learning, making mistakes, and problem solving as I go along. I guess the advantage is all the hours of practice that gives the confidence to meet each challenge and keep moving forward. 

So I'm really grateful to have the reason to stop and look at how far I've come with this medium. And especially grateful to have the opportunity to share my modest skill set with other "quilty" people!     


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