Finishing The Top Of “Pink”

I got to my studio early and went right to work on Pink.  I have this belief, or maybe its a superstition, that when I am focused and dedicate a certain amount of hours to my work, with intention, my muse will join me.

I have to make space for this to happen.  Space in my head and in my day.

My work has to be the priority for that time, no matter how short or long.  There a a million distractions, from washing the dishes to doing my bookkeeping, and they are easy to get caught up in.  But if I let those the things  intrude on the time I set aside to do my work in my studio, I am basically saying they are more important than my art.

Why would my muse show up if I don’t take my work seriously, if I’m not present in every way.

Before yesterday I was struggling with Pink. I was indecisive and doubtful. Then yesterday I sat on my studio floor with Pink in front of me and I meditated for 13 minutes.   I cleared my mind and let my muse know I was ready to get to work.  Ready to dedicate myself once again.

I got a lot of work done on Pink yesterday.

This morning I went to my studio with the same intention.  I stood in front of Pink and asked what comes next.

I saw clearly that I needed to return to the center.  Using the pink fabric I had left from the middle of the quilt, and adding similar fabric to it,  I sewed on the next pieces.

(I’m alway’s a little relieved when I run out of fabric and have to come up with something else that works with what I have.  It invariably leads to the unexpected and makes my quilt more interesting and complex.  I used three different pink fabrics to make the wide pink border.)

Time flew after that and before I even thought to take another picture of my progress, I was done.

That striped piece on the top stuck our a little too much.  But instead of trimming it, I worked around it.

I didn’t have enough of the pink and tan floral to go around the whole quilt so used some scraps from the fabric that is already in the quilt and a piece of fabric that I’d been trying to work into the quilt since the beginning.

That’s the lady in the pink dress.  It was once a valance on someone’s window. There’s a piece of it on the top of the quilt too.

Tomorrow I’ll work on the back of Pink.