Hitting Reset

The Worst Advice I’ve Ever Gotten

For over a year, I’ve been in a creative funk. Last year, I was so excited about quilting and had many ideas and designs I wanted to execute, and of course, I wanted to bring all of you along on the adventure. Later in the year though, my enthusiasm waned and I was not motivated to sew, let alone write about sewing. At one point, I even questioned if this chapter of my life was closing.

A few things that contributed to my lack of enthusiasm. First was life in general. Things got busy, other commitments popped up, and I didn’t have the time I once had to sew. Second, was travel. We still frequently travel to Minneapolis and Kansas City, but also had two lengthy international trips. I planned both of those and making all the arrangements to minimize the many pitfalls that are inevitable to travel these days took so, so much time. Frankly, other priorities took precedence over quilting.

But the major reason I fell into this pit was an unfortunate coaching call. I am always learning new skills and received a coaching session in a class I took to improve my social media skills. Everything I learned from that call went against my gut instincts. Here are a few pieces of that advice that nearly brought down all my years of quiltmaking.In a nutshell, the coach told me that I should never deviate from “brand” colors and basically post similar looking projects over and over so everything is “cohesive.”

After hearing that nothing I am doing online is “right,” I wanted to quit. For some reason, this really played with my mind and I had a hard time getting past it. Logically, I know she isn’t right about many of these things because my goal is not to have a million dollar “brand,” but instead to share my passion for making quilts. Still, every time I start to write or post photos, I think about what she said and become paralyzed.

I am happy to say, I am over it. That whole conversation was taking too much space in my head, and I have moved on. Now I don’t care. I have been a quilter for a LONG time. One major reason I stayed with it for so long is for all the beautiful fabric available…in ALL the colors. I don’t want my quilts to all look the same. That’s why I can happily make the same pattern over and over again. By changing color combinations, adding borders or sashing, or turning a half-square triangle a different direction, a whole new design appears. That’s what keeps quilting fresh and exciting.

My Current Project

Here we are in a brand-new year. Appropriately, my current project is a Reflection quilt. I still love this design and it was perfect for some leftover Strawberry Lemonade fat quarters in my stash. It has already been two years since I published the pattern and I’ve enjoyed making it again. It is always hard for me to leave well enough alone, so if I can find some more of the background fabric I plan to add sashing. If not, I guess I’ll have to make yet another one to see how it looks. Haha!

What’s Next?

Last March, I made a new Road to Oklahoma quilt. In 2014 I posted a little free pattern for this quilt using a jelly roll. It is time to update that pattern and explore the possibilities. Since March, I made a few more of these quilts and like every one of them. It is a great pattern for using scraps, fat quarters, or a jelly roll. I am updating the pattern instructions and adding various sizes and border options. Look for for posts of these newer quilts and more information on the new pattern soon.

I look forward to the new year and many, many new quilts! I hope you will join me as we use fabric, make quilts, and have fun.