Fun!

I’ve seen a lot of great “words of the year” again, ranging from “Originality” to “Less” to “Joy.” Those of us who use this strategy (more than once) find it useful for focusing our attention, or for framing our experiences within a year. In 2017 I chose two words, “Challenge” and “Opportunity” to remind myself that they go hand in hand. (I’m a retired investment manager. Challenge and opportunity go together like risk and return.) While that was a useful exercise, it didn’t affect my choices or even much how I thought about them. For 2018 I will change my approach.

Yesterday I posted an overview of my 2017, primarily in quilting and related activities. Ideally the photos and memories there would spark some deep pleasure, even pride, at my accomplishments. Instead as I built the blog post, I found myself feeling gloomy and frustrated. I felt like something was missing. My quilts were missing something — spontaneity, quirkiness, whimsy. And when I made them, the feeling of enjoyment was too often missing, too. The red and white quilts were made specifically for the guild quilt show, and then the controversy about whether they were red and white enough created bad feelings around them. Dizzy was made specifically as a class sample, and though I like it, the process of making it felt rote and not spontaneous. Union turned out beautifully, but I really had to gut out the design of the last borders, and the quilting process was laborious.

Early in December I folded a piece of paper, drew a few lines, and cut.

When I opened that piece of paper and saw the image above, I literally jumped up and down. I was SO excited! It was SO MUCH FUN!

Of course, part of the fun and excitement was simply because it was a different way to create. I didn’t know what would happen, and there was no risk in finding out. And part of the fun was in the outcome, because the rabbits and squirrels chasing around the cutting are a whimsical image.

Take a look at Quilty Folk, a blog I just stumbled upon. (How did I never see this before?) Her year-end review shows two medallion quilts she worked on in 2017. They are whimsical and fun. Fun to look at, and I will guess fun to make, as well. I want that sense of enjoyment again!

I take my quilting seriously. But it would help my quilts to have a bit more fun, to introduce a playful or fanciful feel to some of them, the kind of feeling that Audrey at Quilty Folk brings to her quilts. Most of all, it would help my quilts, and help me to enjoy myself more. Given that,

my word for 2018 is FUN!

I don’t know what affect that will have on what or how I’ll make. I do believe, if I can keep it in mind, I will make better choices in both. As Groucho Marx said, “If you’re not having fun, you’re doing something wrong.”

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some quilting to do!

Make a Block with Me

Last fall I made eight quilts, one for each of Jim’s siblings. When I was done, I wanted to make one for Jim, also. I made a quilt for him a few years ago, but he has it hung on his office wall. It isn’t a quilt to cuddle under.

Here is Jim’s quilt. It’s about 70″ square, plenty big for two people to cuddle under.

The center block of Jim’s quilt is the same as a block used in one of the siblings quilts.

I made another version, also, just because I liked it so much. It became the center of the little quilt for a little girl.

You can make this block, too — it’s easier than it looks. With block made, you can make more to make a larger quilt, frame it once with a border and make a table mat, or make a number of borders for an old-fashioned medallion quilt. What you do with yours is up to you!