Loose Ends

I’ve been at loose ends for ages, focusing on every kind of distraction I can dream up, dealing with various family crises, and truly not accomplishing anything of great value in my work for at least the past year. It’s time to take back the reins.

For a long time now I’ve struggled with the perceived concept of blogging, of sending small pieces of my heart and mind out into the ether without knowing if or how it will be received by others. It feels incredibly risky, dangerous even, especially if my writing contains any truth, which it always does…  and this is the fear that stops me in my tracks. It stops me from blogging, stops me from exhibiting, and stops me from putting my self out there. It’s that dreaded demon,  fear of rejection, fear of not being good enough, and it can be so overwhelming at times that I simply cannot move forward. I’m stuck.

What am I doing about it? I’m attempting to make changes in small ways, nothing too frightening, just little baby steps.

Step #1 is to consider blogging as a journal entry just for myself in order to overcome my fear of exposure. Don’t worry about who may or may not read my words, but learn to accept what I’ve written as my own truth. Ignore those sweaty palms and heart palpitations as I reach for the publish button… and stop hitting delete.

Step #2 is to redesign my website/blog with simplicity in mind, making it less complicated to use and to view.

Step #3 is to begin tidying up my ‘loose end’ projects and continue to document them. Hopefully this will provide me with a sense of accomplishment by clearing out the cobwebby and dusty stuff that is cluttering up the mind, as well as the studio. I’m hoping this will also make room for new ideas/work.

And so, with that in mind… the quilt in the photo above is titled “Timeless Medallion with Hourglass Borders” and it’s one of those projects that has been languishing for a while. The center panel was designed and hand appliqued back in 2013 and the hourglass blocks became a border in 2015. I finally put it on the longarm earlier this year, machine quilting the surrounding borders, but leaving the applique panel bare so that I could hand quilt that section later. The binding was attached and hand sewn almost immediately after it came off the longarm and I’m currently working on hand quilting the center a little each day using a #12 perle cotton. The photo was taken this summer before I started the hand quilting.

as always, carol

 

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2 Responses to Loose Ends

  1. LoriD says:

    That quilt is seriously beautiful! Yay! Way to begin to overcome your fears!

  2. admin says:

    Thank you so much for your positive encouragement, Lori. I’m absolutely thrilled that you’ve read my blog post.
    as always, carol

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