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| Pile of English paper Pieced Hexagons |
I mentioned in an earlier post about working on a quilt for a contest hosted by the Modern Quilt Guild. The challenge was restricted to using the Riley Blake Cottage Garden fabric other permitted Riley Blake fabric. You can read about it HERE. Well, the quilt is complete and was entered into the contest just in time. This whole project has been kept under wraps, but I thought now I could finally share with you my journey in making this quilt. Enjoy!
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| Prepping hexagons for my original desing |
I had great plans when I first saw the fabrics that were to be used. I had designed the entire quilt before the fabric even arrived! For weeks I English paper pieced hexagons. I ordered extra fabric to use and became a crazy hexagon making woman. I was just sewing along, convinced that I had it all in the bag. This quilt was going to be a breeze.
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| Letting go and letting God take over the design work |
It was while we were vacationing in Hawaii that I realized I had over half my pieces done. So I decided to lay out what I had and see how awesome it all looked. With my detailed diagram in one hand and a pile of hexies in another, I put the pieces together like a puzzle. Once I had the quilt laid out, I stepped back to admire my work. And guess what? It looked like shit! WTF! I couldn't believe it. I had went into all that work drawing, graphing it out, I even used color pencils! Maybe it just looked funky because I was tired, or I had too many Mai Tais the night before. So, I shoved the pieces back into the suitcase and continued to just work on the individual hexagons. I knew my design was perfect. It had to be.
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| My pieced flowers |
Back home, with all the hexagons finally done, I pulled out all the pieces and began putting them together again. Every piece was right where my drawing said it should go. With the whole quilt together, I stood back again to admire my work. And guess what? It still just looked like a hot mess. I was frustrated and angry. Why didn't my design work? It was suppose to work. I did everything right. This was suppose to be my kick-ass design that was just going to blow away the competition. Now with this pile of mess in front of me, I just felt like giving up. If it can't be what I want, then I might as well not enter at all.
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| Sewing the pieces toghter |
Then that small still voice that I've been learning to listen to started to speak. 'Do your work as if you were doing it for God, not for men.' I realized that I had entered this competition with the wrong frame of mind. I wasn't suppose to be doing this to prove I was better then someone else or to validate myself as a quilter. I already know that I am a quilter and all my work was to be a reflection of what pleased God, not someone else. So I did away with my need for the perfect design and my desire to
win.
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| Watching the quilt grow, piece by piece |
I let go of any pre-planned ideas, tossed aside all my drawings and just started moving the hexagons around on the floor. I went into play mode and watched as the hexagons started to take the shape of flowers. Without thought, I moved the pieces until each found their home. In a short time, a completed quilt emerged. I was amazed at what I had put together. It looked nothing like my original drawings, but it was beautiful.
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| Binding the quilt |
As I stitched the hexagons together, those creeping thoughts of doubt came into my mind. "What if this is wrong? What if I just needed to rework my original design? What if this quilt looks like an amateur made it?" I dug deep and committed myself to this design regardless of my doubts. I was already running out of time. I had to just go ahead and finish it.
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| The entire quilt was reverse tied. |
There is this song by Anita Baker and the Winans called, "Ain't No Need To Worry". The lyrics in the song go, "Ain't no need to worry what the night is gonna bring. It'll be all over in the morning". It is a song about being in darkness and trusting that God will bring you back into the light. In making this quilt I felt like God had pulled me out of the darkness of the unknown, yet I wasn't sure if I was fully in the light of realizing His intention. It felt like I was in the middle of day and night. Not fully dawn. More like twilight. So, I decided to name the quilt, Twilight's Garden.
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Twilight's Garden by Michelle Cali Mattingly
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