On Being Crafty Daily

I have decided that I will do something crafty each and every day. That does not mean that I will be clever, or do something sneaky, but I will sew, knit, work on a quilt design, or do something that furthers a handcraft project in my life!

Just like all quilters out there, I have so much fabric on my shelves, so many ideas in my head, and somehow that doesn’t always transform into quilts on my bed! Seriously, because I was with family over the holidays, I just didn’t work on my projects the way that I would like. I really miss my time at the sewing machine. There is something very therapeutic about the rhythmic hum of the machine, as I either sew seams, or machine quilt. I especially like machine quilting. I love the feel of ‘painting’ on the fabric, as I move the quilt around under the needle. It has to be similar to the ‘zone’ that a runner reaches after they hit their stride.

It is important to utilize your brain in a creative endeavor. I am hoping it will keep all those brain cells alive and kicking. Quilting and handcrafting is very creative. You are utilizing the creative half of your brain in order to imagine the overall look of a quilt by switching a fabric. I do utilize computer programs where I have scanned in my fabric, and can “see” the quilt in the colored version, but before I get to that point, I have to look at the fabrics and decide if they are compatible, and put them through their audition paces. Imagining a machine quilting pattern is also very creative. I love to draft the patterns on large pieces of paper. Once I determine what pattern I like, I practice it over and over to translate the pattern into my brain.

I want this next year to be my most successful in completing a lot of projects! Follow my progress here!

Happy Quilting . . .

Nancy