Finding My Way Home

It's not that one necessarily starts or sets out to create a "Grief Quilt" but rather that one is grieving during the making of that quilt.  It is my experience, that the life behind the quilt has a way of showing up, in the quilt.

I started my journey, map in hand, with the cocky idealism of youth. With a relatively pain free childhood behind me, I thought I knew where I was going. Nothing really prepared me for the unexpected bumps in the road. The mountain tops and the valleys....the exquisite moments of joy and the dark valleys of pain.

Somewhere along the line I threw my map away and discovered that many roads lead home. At times there is the death of a dream but often around the corner is the birth of a new one.  The longer I journey, I find the less I know....perhaps that's a good thing.

There is vulnerability in working improv, as it documents one's journey through life. Perhaps this is why I love working this way so much....for me it's cathartic as I loose myself in the process. 

Then suddenly, the quilt is finished and I am often somewhat restless and bereft at that moment. Such was the case when I finished the quilt I started in Krista's Hennebury's Class (Improv Under the Influence).

Finding My Way Home

Finding My Way Home...close up

The center of the quilt is the orginal set of instructions or map, if you will.  Then somewhere along the way, the quilt took several twists and turns of it's own. The colours started to mingle and things started to fracture. I also incorporated several different techniques along the way....changing things at will. 

I will always see this quilt of part my journey of finding my way through.

Below are several process shots.

And through it all we had a wedding......

 My two beautiful daughters at the rehearsal...

And of course, there is nothing like my beautiful grandchildren to give me a reason to Find My Way Home!!

Just What Have I Been Up to?

Sometimes life has a way of taking over, but I thought I would stop and share a few pics, lest you thought I dropped off the quilting world altogether.

 After getting home from the coast....a little painting was in order.

And as usual I spent time rearranging my studio....I'm always trying to find the best layout. It usually takes me several tries. I had to find the best spot for my expandable quilting desk. A perfectly good excuse for moving "EVERYTHING" around....so I tell myself.

After all, one never knows when one might need to support an ever-growing project.

 

And since my design wall was simply too small for this ever-growing quilt, I expanded the design wall as well.

Below are are some shots of my ever-growing quilt that I started in Krista Hennebury's class "Improv Under the Influence"while in Victoria.

Of course, once I started....I couldn't stop.

And yes....I turned into a QAYG (quilt as you go) project.

More details to come on this one...rest assured.

My youngest daughter is getting married on Saturday....so this the size it will stay until after the wedding.