Deblog

Here we are with 2 weeks remaining until Christmas. My shopping is just about done. Nothing is wrapped and there is Christmas knitting to do. In the next 2 weeks I am hoping to knit 4 pairs of socks and 2 pairs of mittens. Here’s what I have done so far:

Stop laughing!

For the past year, I have been on a creative journey with a group of very dear friends. We call ourselves the Quilting Divas. Last night all the secrets of this creative journey were revealed. So now I can share them with you. As you may have guessed from our name, this is a journey of quilts and quilting.

It began in January 2011. Each of us had to make a quilt block and start a journal describing our thoughts on the block we had created and any assumptions we had with regard to the quilt that it would become. Each block was then put in a box along with our journal and any fabric we wished to contribute. We wouldn’t see them again until December. Stacey devised a great schedule ensuring that each block got to each of the Quilting Divas and that no block visited us in the same order.

The rules were simple; each time you received a block you had to add a border and write your thoughts in the journal. We got together once a month and every 2nd month we passed on the blocks that were gradually growing into quilts.

I will say that for me, this was a stressful journey. It imposed a hard deadline on me – I don’t work well with deadlines. It forced me to be creative in a quilting environment without the benefit of a pattern or template. And finally, I was working on a quilt that was not my own, so there was intense pressure to not screw it up!

Last night we all got together for the Grand Unveiling. We started with a pot luck that included lots of really good food, wine, cider and laughter. And then we sat down and revealed each of the quilts in turn.

We watched as each of us reacted to the knowledge of what our little block had become.

We each identified (in order) the borders we had added.

We talked about the how’s and why’s of the borders we had added.

And we marvelled at, not only the lovely quilts that had been created, but at the creative and technical talent that was present in our little group.

We added one new Quilting Diva after our blocks started their journey in January. Since we wanted her to have a Diva Quilt too, we each made at least one block from a specified line of fabrics. We gave her all the blocks (9 in total) and she was tasked with putting the blocks together into a finished quilt.

I believe we were even successful in ensuring that no one saw their original block again until they saw the finished quilt top unveiled last night.

I have to say that I learned a lot – much more than I expected – from this year-long journey. I learned that creativity is not just a talent some people are born with. It takes time, energy and hard work to cultivate this skill. I learned that the journey is worth the effort and that if you think you can’t do something, it’s just because you haven’t focussed enough energy on it. And finally I learned that the greatest power in the universe is love – we can accomplish anything with it.

More when I return!

Hotel Room Update:

Room #1 – toilet wouldn’t flush a piece of kleenex down the drain
Room #2 – burst hot water pipe – We returned from dinner tonight to find a stranger in our room, with the door wide open, throwing all our things (including everything I bought at Rhinebeck) into a box. They were moving us to another room as the carpet squelched when you walked on it. We were gone a little over 1 hour! Damage to our stuff was minimal. Damage to this hotel chain’s reputation – Done.