So Sunday morning, the Seattle MQG experienced a first. Our Vice President of Programs, Allison, somehow managed to arrange a webinar between us and Karen Lewis, screen-printer and fabric designer of Blueberry Park. Now I don't really expect to take up screen-printing anytime soon, but I thoroughly enjoyed the webinar just the same. It's always interesting to hear the story of a crafter's journey, and Karen's was no exception. In fact, she was really inspiring. She talked about her screen-printing process and how hard work pays off ..... the fact that there are no short-cuts to building skills - it takes practice, practice, practice. She talked about how she sometimes minimizes her response when asked what she does by answering simply, "I make things." But what really struck me was her encouragement to "never say never, and don't be afraid to change directions" and most of all, "don't be afraid of getting it wrong."
Which is exactly what I was afraid of that morning. I'd shared a work-in-progress on Instagram the night before, honestly hoping for some clue if my project was headed in a good direction, or totally 'off'. It was met with mixed reviews, and I kept debating with myself where to take it next, or whether to just stop, or at least stop for now.
But after Karen's "don't be afraid of getting it wrong" statement, I think I actually said out loud, "I'm just going to do it." Meaning I was going to keep those improv X blocks I liked so much, sew them onto the improv lines block I was afraid I'd ruin, and see what happened.
So for better or worse, I moved forward with the design that was simmering in my mind. Karen had reminded me that whatever it became didn't need to be perfect. It didn't even need to work at all. With this project, on this day, I just needed to do it.
So I've since added a third 'border' of improv squares and then some, and I hope to start quilting yet this week. It's been an uncertain path. But sometimes you just have to make and see where it takes you.
