This is a smaller version of my quilt Albert Hofmann’s Obit. I made it when I wrote an article for the Quilt Life magazine. You can see it in person at the Quilt Zone here in Anchorage.
This is a close up of The Trip. Both quilts are a modern take on the traditional Whole Cloth Quilt. The surface is a solid black fabric. All the color is simply thread. Each color has its own motif or doodle.
When I teach, I frequently give the class a mantra for the day.
My hope is that a particular mantra will keep them focused on what I really want them to learn in the class.
In my machine quilting classes, students often get hung up on the fact that they really just aren’t that good the first time they sit down at their machines to stitch. They compare their work to my work and decide they just can’t possibly ever be good at machine quilting.
My students’ reasoning leaves out the truth of matter which is that I have spent THOUSANDS of hours quilting on both my domestic and my long arm quilting machine. What stands between them and good quilting is practice.
So the mantra for that class is often PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.
Another good one for students is START WHERE YOU ARE.
Where they ARE is at hour number one behind the machine.
And finally I like BEGIN AGAIN. Which is really just practice, practice, practice said with a zen attitude.
I decided to give myself five mantras for 2013. They are what I want to be this year.
I am going to try and
BE TIDY
BE TECHY
BE FIT
BE FEARLESS
BE KIND
What are you going to be this year?
Hour number 2,155 or something like that.
Happy New Year Folks. I think it is going to be a good one!
Thanks for the reminder, Maria. I like that you’re going to TRY and be those five things. It’s much easier to remember that we’re successes as long as we keep trying.
I know! The try part is essential. Like the fact that I just had a snack that I didn’t need. I will TRY tomorrow to not do that. I hope you are doing good down Valdez. And thank you commenting!
Maria – I am so proud of all you have accomplished since you first showed up at the Calico Whale all those years ago. You are doing amazing things! I sure miss having you around here.
Jody- This blog has me thinking about all of you a lot. I would not be here if you, Trudy, and Lil weren’t so encouraging and supportive. In fact, I’ve been wanting to write about it….Thank you for inspiring me!
Maria, thank-you for your quilting class in Valdez last summer! I learn so much in every class but yours took me from a ‘tryer’ to a ‘doer.’ I feel very confident now, and satisfied with my results. I also love your mantras and your sweaters. I would love to be your plus size model if you need one. My mantra for 2013 is finish what you start before your start the next! (advise from my mother I should have taken to heart 20 years ago when I started quilting) This is the first blog I ever read, and I love it. Cathy Torrence, Palmer
Cathy! Thank you so much for the kind words. It really does make me feel good to know you are enjoying my writing. I would love to have a model from the Valley. I will email you the details. Thank you!
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