Here is what my life looks like right now.
October 18
I must make sure that all of my quilts arrive at C&T Publishing to be photographed for the book.
October 18 – 25
I will be in China (YES! CHINA!) at The 2016 China International Patchwork Invitational Tournament & Patchwork Arts Show. I have been invited to share my work, teach a workshop, and be part of the jury for their show.
October 30 – November 7
I will be lecturing and teaching at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas.
November 7
The final bits and pieces of the book are due at the C&T publishing office.
November 22
New work must arrive at the Ormond Beach Memorial Art Museum and Gardens for a three person show Right Lines and Circles.
There is a point in every single one of my deadline frenzies that I start jettison other obligations.
I whittle my life down to the bare essentials. Sleep, coffee, computer, quilt, wine. Yes. I consider wine a necessity. A period puts an end to a sentence. Wine brings closure to my day.
I repeat these things in pretty much the same order at the same time of every day until the deadline is a giant shadow in my life following me everywhere denying me even the tiniest pleasure. No cruising EBAY for vintage fabrics, no fashion sewing, no knitting. No staring into space.
I abandoned all but the elemental components of what will get me across that finish line. I know this may sound miserable to many of you, but it is not. It is laser sharp focus, and most of time it brings me great joy to work with clarity, singlemindless, and discipline.
I was looking through old documents the other day, and I found this note to myself.
“I much prefer the concentrated stress of a deadline to the endless running about of appointments.”
I mean, I play a part in creating these scenarios, right?
So I am standing in the middle of one such scenario now, and I am going to remove myself from the blogging for just a minute. Okay, you might hear from me here and there, but mostly I will be on mute.
On Thursday I posted this on Facebook.
The text reads, “A quilt and a question. This is Birch Woods Glimmer an old favorite of mine. And now for the question. I have been thinking about my next blog post. As I do that, I usually give it a working title. In my head right now, I am thinking about “On Social Media” and “Anatomy of a She-Dog” Which would you rather read?”
All of the comments that followed indicated that you folks are lured by language and could give a hoot about my social media practice. This morning, I got up early and started to compose “Anatomy of a She-Dog” and I panicked.
I could hear the clock ticking—you know the sound—once you have heard it, it won’t go away.
TICK TICK TICK
And I realized THIS is the post I needed to write today.
If you want daily antics, I will be posting short bits on my Facebook Artist page. Like me here.
And if you are dying to know what I am wearing for the day, follow me on Instagram @talesofastitcher. Project Every Day is on Day #268.
I will be here, but it feels very good to jettison this mental obligation for a month or so.
PS Don’t panic Cindy Grisdela. On Tuesday, I will be writing a blog post about your great new book.
The amazing Paul Scannell did the artsy photos you see here. The regular ones are mine of course. I am saving the best images for later, but this gives you a little peek. He spent all of last summer documenting McCarthy, Alaska and you can see dozens and dozens of amazing images on his Facebook or Instagram.
Wine IS a necessity. I’m heading for a glass right now….
You know what they say–Great minds think alike! Can’t wait for martinis and Italian food in Houston.
Maria,
I loved this post! The photos, the info…everything! Good luck with your deadlines. Hope to see you in Houston.
Donna Deaver
Sent from my iPad
Donna- I sent you an email, so hopefully we can make plans to meet in Houston. That would be great!
“I much prefer the concentrated stress of a deadline to the endless running about of appointments.” Great outlook Maria! Good luck on all the “concentrated stresses” of your life—it’s where much good work happens.
Thank you Beth!
Maria I hope you have a wonderful experience in China and at the Houston show..Take time to enjoy if you can..Much love Sue
Thank you Sue!
Thank you, thank you, Maria! What an exciting time–you’ll do great!
Thank you Cindy. I truly cannot believe I am going to China!
Yikes! Good luck my friend.
Martha– Thank you! I need it.
“I mean, I play a part in creating these scenarios, right?” I have no deadlines and still run about trying to get as much done in my day as I can. (chicken and my head is off) Cooking, cleaning and bathing get in the way. I will have to try the wine idea, especially on the weekends, that may slow things down a bit!
I think most of us try and maximize our time. I know I am on a big time deadline when the dishes start piling up!
Congrats on China! What a wonderful experience that will be. When you get back to blogging, please tell us all about it!!
And this sentence “I repeat these things in pretty much the same order at the same time of every day until the deadline is a giant shadow in my life following me everywhere denying me even the tiniest pleasure.”–too funny and too true. I did LOL 🙂
Thank you Debby! China is beyond my wildest dreams.
Wow, CHINA?! Hope you have a wonderful time! And in Houston! Wish I could go but it’s not in the cards this year.
That is quite the deadline list. Best of luck and I complement you on your focus. I’ll look forward to reading your posts again when things quiet down.
Thank you Carrie. It is intense. While I look forward to the adventures, I am also looking forward to the time when it is quiet enough to write about them!
Your life is full. Wonderful! Can’t wait to hear all about / see pics of the adventures whenever you have the time to tell us. Safe travels and have fun!
I know! Be careful what you wish for. Thank you Vivien!
Talk to Sue and Julie about Hong Kong and their experiences before you go. Lots to learn before you go and how they handled some funny and interesting things about hotels there and their trip changing three dimensional things into those that would seem American for the market in their prototypical three dimensional sculptures. The food is different and hotels and how the light work in the hotels and some unusual things that might make your trip easier. julie had some hair raising incident in NYC whether purse and passport were stolen with all her cash and the need to quickly redeem her much needed passport so watch the pickpockets when you are buying some good walking shoes and never turn your back on your purse. Congrats. All will love your quilts and personality and you will want to go back again and again I am sure. Talk about inspiration! Go gal, Have fun and be safe.
Thank you Aunt Carole!
Enjoy the next month of exciting opportunities and new experiences!
Thank you Marla! I love the new scrapy work you have been sharing!