Giving Up and Giving In

The blocks for my current improvisational quilt is done. Sewing the blocks was easy, but it has been the attempt in putting the blocks together that has caused great distress in my life.

For the past three days I have been working on different configurations for this quilt. I had what I thought was a logical layout for the quilt, but it just didn't feel right once laid out that way.

I tried other possible patterns and configurations. Some resulted in me having leftover blocks, while others resulted in big gaps in the quilt that would require me to make even more blocks.

The frustration finally got to me. I picked up all the blocks into a pile and sat them in a corner of the house like some child being punished.

Every time I tried to come up with a solution, the blocks would not a agree. Finally, I gave up. I stopped trying to make the blocks bend to my will. I gave in to letting the blocks do what they wanted to do.

I took the pile of blocks and started laying them together without and thought or plan. All I focused on was putting the next piece down. Before I knew it, I had put the last piece down. The blocks fit perfectly in a beautiful random order that surprised me.

Now I am sewing my blocks together, thinking how I didn't realize the amount of control I tried to have over this quilt until I learned to let it go. It was in the simple acts of giving up and giving in that opened up a new creative possibility that I did not see before.

I once heard someone in reference to Navajo weaving say, 'let the fibers speak and they will tell you what they want to be.' I think the same thing can apply to quilting as well. Allowing the fabric to speak and direct us in our creative process.