I know we've all been in this position. We've all admired someone else's work, someone else's lifestyle, someone else's quilts. Come on - you've done it - I've done it. We've all done it. But sometimes deep inside, there's a twinge and we say "I wish that I did that", "I wish that my quilt could win a major award" or whatever the thing is. OK - I used to say that a LOT.
Have a read through Cheryl Sleboda's article. And then come back to read my thoughts on this.
OK - you've read the article. What do you think? Has that ever happened to you? I mean, we've all been quilting forever and then people who've only been quilting for 5 years are landing book deals and have become famous in the industry. Why aren't we?
Here's my take on it. Yes, I would love to see my name in the Best of Show winner's circle at a major show. BUT then I think of the hours and hours of work that's involved in producing ONE quilt of that calibre and I'm bored to tears. There's no way that I could ever (or WOULD ever) want to spend that much time on ONE quilt. The minute detail of the quilting? Bored to tears before I even got one square inch done. So yes - I'd love to see my name in that winner's circle, but it isn't going to happen. And I'm OK with that. I don't want the winner's circle fame that badly.
Do I like to see my stuff published in magazines? Yes - it's great fun to see your work published. I'm not going to deny that. But let's not forget the deadlines. The deadlines for submitting the articles, the deadlines for producing the instructions and lastly, the deadlines for producing the actual item. If one is a good planner, this shouldn't be that bad, but you know me - last minute. I'm getting really really good at making quilts quickly, accurately and with the exception of labels, they are done! That's a miracle in itself. It's almost like I play a game with myself - how much can I get done in X amount of time! However I do want to design and make a super WOW quilt for me - that's my goal.
Would I like to design a line of fabric or publish a book? Well yes it would be amazing, BUT I couldn't bear to EVER see my book or fabric in the clearance bin. That would rip me apart. Until I come to grips with that, I doubt I'll ever aim for a book or a fabric collection. After a while, you would get used to the "rejection", but why go through that if you don't have to?
I'm sure there are people who would wish to do what I do. It sounds like loads of fun. Working for a fabric company, making quilts all the time, sewing at work, travelling to consumer and trade shows. Oh yes - it's great fun, but let's not forget all the deadlines to make all that happen. Let's not forget all the calls/e-mails I field from disgruntled quilters who are unhappy with something or other.
I think the biggest disservice we can do to ourselves is to covet what someone else has. That could be anything - a sewing machine, a car, a lifestyle, whatever. What we need to learn is how to be comfortable with what we have. I'm looking at my daily calendar and the note I see is "Accept who you are and REVEL in that." I don't think I could say it better than that. While there are a couple of things that I wish I could change about myself (like getting rid of 10 pounds), for the most part, I'm very happy with who I've become. I've worked very hard and continue to work very hard at it. I read somewhere yesterday that "the harder they work, the luckier they become!" How true is that? Gosh my daily calendar is filled with super inspirational sayings this week!
On that note, I'm off to create more super exciting things. I did get the one quilt top finished and it's loaded on the long arm. I decided to start piecing the next quilt top and it's DONE. Getting backing today and onto the next one. I'll be having a major cut session today in hopes of having everything cut and ready to sew up a storm this weekend.
Have a super day!!!!
Ciao!!!
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