Friday, November 1, 2013

This is not a race…

For Christmas this year I think I’m going to ask Santa for a sign to put up in my quilting room.  It should say something along the lines of “What’s the rush?”.  I need the reminder sometimes.

IMG_7049This week I have been machine quilting Quilter’s Scrapbook.  Remember earlier in the week I said I thought it would be done fairly quickly?  I got caught up in that idea of getting it done NOW.  On day two I was getting frustrated because the quilting in the blocks didn’t look like I expected, and quilting the bead board motif in the border is taking so much longer than I wanted (though exactly as long as I should have expected if I had been thinking realistically and rationally!) 

Happily I had  a moment of clarity yesterday when I remembered there is no deadline to get this quilt finished.  Any sense of urgency is completely artificial and self-imposed.  I just turned off the machine, walked away and went and accomplished other things that needed doing and gave me satisfaction.

Today I sat back down, unpicked what I didn’t like in the blocks, came up with something else that I like better, and stopped when I had had enough for the day.  Tomorrow I’ll enjoy working a little bit on that bead board border, which is looking exactly as I hoped it would and will take however long it takes to get done. When I’ve had enough for the day I’ll go bake some muffins or tidy up the garden and not feel the least bit guilty. The quilt isn’t going anywhere.  What’s the rush? Quilting isn’t a race, and I’m much happier now that I have rediscovered that little fact. 

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5 comments:

  1. Marsha BNovember 1, 2013 at 11:14 PM

    I know the feeling. Sometimes I am in a hurry to finish a project because I have another one I want to get started on. You are right, slow down, relax and enjoy the process. Quilting is suppose to be fun!

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  2. RuthNovember 2, 2013 at 6:12 AM

    I've been able to slow down more now that I'm retired, but I also tend to want to hurry through a project and then don't really enjoy it that much. Of course, when there is a deadline, you don't always have the option of slowing down. Actually, the process itself has become more enjoyable for me lately.

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  3. EllenNovember 2, 2013 at 9:07 AM

    I totally agree. I often set self-imposed deadlines because I am someone that works best to a deadline or I wouldn't get anything finished. Quilting is supposed to be fun, relaxing and enjoyable so every so often I have to give myself a little reminder as well. Sometimes just walking away for a while can settle many of life's challenges including quilting ones. :)

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  4. ---"Love"November 2, 2013 at 10:20 AM

    Very wise words, indeed! I love the look of your bead board border. I'm going to be trying that someday. Your work is beautiful, as always! ---"Love"

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  5. KatieNovember 2, 2013 at 4:12 PM

    If you bake too many muffins, you can send some my way because I seem to be accomplishing NOTHING lately. In all seriousness, though, the quilting looks great and I would probably push myself to get it done, too, seeing it look so wonderful!

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