Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The Perfect Quilt


Here's my piece for the show!

“Practice” is a reminder to myself that the process of creating is more important than the result. It was inspired by a Hindu mantra that I try to remember while quilting:

This is perfect, that is perfect

Perfect comes from perfect

Subtract the perfect from the perfect

And only the perfect remains.

One thing I love about modern quilting is that it’s impossible to make a mistake. Flawlessness is not the measure of beauty; the energy and movement of a design is more important than precision piecing.

But that doesn’t mean it’s easy! Sure, you don’t have to worry about perfect points, but making a quilt without any rules can be intimidating. I spent months thinking about how to make this perfectionism mantra into a quilt, trying out several ideas on paper and on fabric before I settled on this approach. Even so, I didn’t know what the quilt would look like until it was done. As a newcomer to quilting, I found this a little intimidating—what if it turned out ugly?—but I think that by trusting my instincts and letting the quilt evolve it ended up being more dynamic and interesting than if I had planned the whole thing out from the beginning.

4 comments:

  1. Your mantra is perfect for creating.... and for living, too! Love those points going out of bounds!

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  2. Love it - so vibrant! And your message, it is what we all need to hear. I had a yoga teacher who used to say, imagine everything you are doing right now is perfect, just as it is. Good thoughts to keep in mind.

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  3. Suzanne, your piece is perfect ... perfectly wonderful!

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  4. There is a great feeling of energy radiating out from the center. It is a beautiful and inspiring piece!

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