Lessons Learned

After returning from the Gee’s Bend Quilting Retreat in late March, I was excited about the possibilities ahead. I imagined quilts made with methods I had never tried before and the fun that I could have.

The one piece of quilting advice I keep thinking about is ‘don’t think.’

Easier said than done! That is one of the most difficult pieces of advice I’ve received in my life. It ranks up there with “just don’t eat chocolate and you’ll lose weight.” Right. Sure. Chocolate is life!

I am curious by nature. I am a learner. Thinking comes with those identities. Playing with ideas, considering possibilities, all are part of my DNA. Interestingly, before this retreat, quilting was surprisingly rigid to me. The patterns were there for me to replicate. I could possibly add a little something here or there, but sticking to basics and timeworn patterns was my role as a quilter. 

Or so I thought. 

Now, I’m told not to think– and, of course, that makes me think. 

Why did I accept quilting as it was demonstrated? Why didn’t I wonder what else was possible? Why did I have to follow all of the rules so tightly? I rarely do that with anything in my life. 

Of course, I designed my own patterns and played with color and experimented a bit, but I have never done anything approaching what I did at this retreat. If I created anything as ‘free’ as these designs in the past, I would have scrapped them as mistakes. I would have been embarrassed to show them to anyone.

That’s what has shifted. 

Now, I am eager to play with color, to create designs with no concrete ideas to begin with and no idea where how they will end. I want to see where the path will lead and let the fabric speak to me.

Woo woo? Perhaps.

Inspiring and pushing me beyond my previously imposed limits? Indeed. 

It turns out the hardest rule to break was the one I didn’t know I was following. It’s time to try something new and see what happens next.