If what won’t work, doesn’t work

new quiltYou see those little green and flowered checkerboard squares to  the right.  That’s how this quilt started.  I’ve been looking at those little squares for weeks, wanting to sew them together.  They came to me all cut up like that in a bag of scraps from Laura Israel.

Yesterday, in a frenzy, I sewed them together.  Then I just added to them, what ever felt right until I got to the point where I am now. The beginnings of a quilt, about 30×40 inches.

And now, I’m stumped.  I just don’t know what to do next.  I’ve  already tried so many things, but nothing’s working. I don’t even know how I got to this point.   So I’m beginning to think I’ll have to cut it up.  In half at least.

But I’m not ready to commit to that yet.  I’m thinking that this quilt wants to take me to a place I haven’t been before.

Maybe it’s like when I misplace something that I use everyday, like my wallet or keys.  When I’ve looked everywhere they should logically be and still can’t find them, I know it time to look in those places where they have no right being.  Like in the refrigerator or the medicine cabinet.  Because if they’re not where they usually are, then I put them somewhere while thinking of something else and they could be anywhere.

So instead of looking at the quilt and thinking what the next piece I sew on should look like, I’m going to think of what it shouldn’t look like.  What won’t work.

And if what won’t work, doesn’t work, then I’ll cut it up.

 

14 thoughts on “If what won’t work, doesn’t work

  1. Really? You’ll cut it up? I really like it, but, of course, it is your piece. Good luck finding what does, or doesn’t, work.

  2. I love the quilt–don’t abandon it! I love the repeating patterns in different shapes and sizes and the colors> maybe I can buy it?
    polly

  3. Hello Maria! NO! Dont’ cut it up! Let it come and flow………. very Gee’s Bend-ish already and it will lead you onward to something even more wonderful. Just a new way of looking at it, is all. I think you are well on your way to another beautiful creation!
    Hugs from California
    Susan

  4. Maria there is nothing worse than getting to a point where you get stumped with a piece of work and yet, those are often the challenges we need. Even if we make a mistake, they’ve at least made us think…

    I find if I don’t finish a piece and set it aside, it’s very hard to get back into it. I’d rather start a quilt and see it right through to the end, the flow goes better that way. I have a quilt top 1/4 of the way done but can’t get into it…it’s sitting on my sewing table…I hate it when that happens…I have no idea why I can’t jump back into it but I’ve lost my enthusiasm for it. Hope that doesn’t happen to you with this piece.
    SandyP in Canada

  5. I think all quilters reach this point with many of their tops. I just hang mine on the design wall where I will see it regularly. Then I start another project. After awhile some piece of fabric will seem just right for the next round on the puzzle. Maybe just a night or two of sleep will provide the answer.

  6. Don’t cut it up! Set it aside and do another block with the scraps…..then another….etc.,then you can join those together. Easy Peasey:)

    1. I didn’t cut it up Karen, today when I went into my studio, I worked it out. And I did make some more blocks, as you suggest, to add on to it. Thanks for your enthusiasm!

  7. I smile every time you mention that another scrap came from Laura Israel’s bag. It is like a never ending magical bag like Santa’s bag or those little Russian nesting dolls that keep opening and opening…Laura Israel’s scraps have been transformed into art over and over…Magic!

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