Despite my best intentions, my quilt blog is perhaps the most neglected blog on the planet. It is only slightly less neglected than my quilt studio. I have had so little quilty goodness to report – and so many other life challenges that I haven’t seen my way clear to write about it. I’ve recently been reminded about baby steps. Baby steps are those tiny, teetering steps that are so celebrated when little ones take them – and so reviled when a big person tries them. In an effort to take joy in my process (instead of choking it into nothingness), I’m going to acknowledge my challenges and record my tiniest steps.
Challenges -
1) Moving 500 miles to a new state (good but hard)
2) Big, fat, horrid custody battle with the ex (bad, all bad)
3) Having 8 people under one roof (and sometimes 15 people, and for six weeks 9 people, yet soon only 8.)
4) Eastern Time Zone (It’s kicking my butt! Growing up in the far eastern edge of the Central Time Zone has set my body clock to surprisingly different expectations about light and dark and time. AND people here start things later or have them go later. Quilt guild meeting was still going at 9:30 pm! I had to sneak out. I wonder if I’ll ever adjust.)
Steps:
1) I did join a local quilt guild (but it’s HUGE and a little scary and did I mention they meet LATE?)
2) I bought myself a book on bead embroidery because I have long wanted to embellish my quilts and have had zero confidence in my hand sewing. Replacing buttons has been historically difficult to me – so teeny little seed beads were intimidating as heck. YET – I made myself just try. I sat one whole evening playing. Oh my happy artist baby – getting to play – having it be ok if the beads were all higgledy-piggledy.
3) I did FINALLY unpack my whole quilt studio. I haven’t quite got it set up the way I want it (because I have to save and build and engineer some) but the space is marked out, the fabric is out where I can see it, my tools and rulers and gizmos are all accessible.
4) I have started sketching some ideas for a quilt I want to put in the guild quilt show next year. That gives me enough time – and actually coincides with my triathlon training goals. For me running and quilting go hand in hand. If I’m not doing one, then I’m probably not doing the other.
5) I did immediately locate a wonderful, local quilt shop. I was even brave enough to go in, buy a few things, and introduce myself. Yay me!
Inspiration:
Right after we got here, I went with my partner to the NC State School of Architecture. She is putting together her portfolio to submit there for the Master’s program. While there, I saw a notice on the bulletin board looking for someone to be a marketing intern for a local artist. Then I saw that the artist was HOLLIS CHATELAIN! She is (and has long been) one of my very favorites. For a nanosecond I considered applying as a way to meet her. But – not quite the impression I’d like to give, really. “Hello – I would be the suckiest marketing intern ever, so you shouldn’t even think about hiring me, but I wanted to waste your valuable and probably limited time by finangling an interview in order to meet you. I just love your work.” Uh no. Still! She lives close by. She might give workshops. I might could meet her without having to wear a nametag that says STALKER.
I love it here. It’s a great place to take art steps of any size. Diversity is valued. Community is considered important. Art is everywhere. People are outside and together. My roots may be tentative tendrils now but I think eventually they’ll be deep and nourishing anchors here.
Peace.
