Another custom done…
The other day when my customer and her friend dropped off a
fabulous Judy Niemeyer designed quilt, Paradise in Bloom, for me to quilt, I
was asked would I leave it out to study it so I could decide what to do?
I’m not always comfortable answering this question. I don’t leave them out to look at them for
even a minute. I have found I do my best
with my back to the wall. I think what
actually happens doing it this way is I don’t overthink something of such magnitude. I learned from my friend, Shirley Stutz,
that to eat an elephant you do it one bite at a time. I know I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it
again. These huge projects would
intimidate the heck out of me if I let myself agonize over it for days before
it is ever in front of me to get done. The
one bite at a time is the trick. Each
area is not intimidating when I don’t think about the whole thing and what is
left to do.
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| Swirls are my favorite fill |
I paid more attention to my inner self as I quilted this
one, since I had been asked if I thought about what goes on the quilt for a
period of time beforehand. I know how I
operate and I’ve told customers that I let the quilt speak to me, I thought I
would listen to me in my head as I went through this one. I really do think some
quilts speak. The words are really in my
head. I’m not putting the thought in my
brain consciously, but I hear the words.
 |
| The little flying geese were my starting point |
One of the words that kept being in my head was the
background fill of McTavishing for the flower petals. I resisted that word for days. To the second I started those petals I
resisted McTavishing. I have not felt
comfortable doing it before. I have to
think really hard and make arcs that are equidistant and look like they are
random. It has been hard before. But the
word would not go away so I just started doing it! It looked fabulous. It was the perfect background for that
petal. I’m glad I listened.
 |
| McTavished petals |
The place where I did stones was a no brainer. I wanted the little triangles to pop. I saved the little triangles till the very
end and found my choice again to listen was perfect for what I wanted to
happen.
 |
| The long purple spikes did not speak until the last day |
The parts I save until the end are usually the parts that
aren’t speaking loudly. The Judy quilts are challenging with so many points and
spikes to deal with.
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| The straight pin marks the inevitable spot I missed |
Another quilt is in the bag waiting for its owner to come
claim it. I’m glad I am done. Tomorrow
starts another custom that is not so difficult to think about. No spikes!
