Oh my, that might be the most “click-baitest” post title I have ever written but it is true. While there is tons of ways to improve your skill set on the techniques there is really only one way to become the best quilter you can be – Stop Quilting
Yes, I said it, stop quilting.
Get up, call a friend, see a movie, talk a walk in the woods. Go a little crazy and take up yet another hobby. In my case I have decided to get back into needle-felting and I am LOVING IT!!
Don’t get me wrong, quilting is fantastic. But I can promise you that if you take part in lots of different creative adventures you will be a better quilter.
A walk in the woods with your camera in hand will reveal to you more line and depth than you ever dreamed possible.
A walking tour in the urban jungle will bring gifts that will rest in the recesses of your mind until the very moment you need a new quilting motif for that very special project.
A night out making really bad art and drinking passable red wine {or beer} with friends will make your heart swell and rekindle friendships that being alone in your sewing room might have strained.
Dive in a river and feel the cool water against your skin and the dappled pattern of the shade on bank. See the millions of greens that only nature can put together.
Take up a sport, run or walk or ride a bike. Quilting has never been known to do much for the figure besides spread the backsides of those who sit for hours as quilts come together stitch by stitch.
For goodness sake, go have sex! Really, I can even give you 7 reasons that even your doctor will approve of!
Sing, or play an instrument, hell even play it badly… except the tuba, no one needs that.
And after you have done the things that have taken you away come back to your sewing room, you might not have gotten as much quilted as you had planned but I can promise you that without a stitch being sewn in the meantime you will have become a better quilter.
I promise.
Your turn to talk back….. leave me a comment! Or get real wild and share this post.
Ok first of all, yes, you got me with that bait!
Second, this is so very true! Not the kind of advice most people would’ve expected but it’s worked for me. For different reasons I’ve had to step away from quilting and feared that I might’ve lost my skill in my absence. But I find that it’s a bit like riding a bike and the breaks bring me back refreshed with new ideas! I’ve surprised myself! Worked for free motion quilting for me too.
Well said. I need to spend less time on my butt and more time walking in the woods which I love and don’t do often enough. Thank you for this post, we all need that reminder.
So true. Do something else to kickstart your other interests. It will be there when you get back.
Thank you for starting the year off with a reminder that we have whole lives we can draw on. I do love your posts and this is a good one! All the best for 2016 and beyond.
I call that feeding the soul which is always a good idea! Thanks for such a well-written reminder.
I find myself having too many irons in the fires and don’t know where to begin. Love Maddie’s way of thinking. So now have taken time to write them down and ready to start.
I agree whole heartedly! My problem is that I have so many interests that there isn’t enough time to do all of them!
AWEsome post! I have found this to be the case too and I am so relieved that I am not alone (honestly we never are :P)
This is so very true! Last summer a friend asked me if I would be interested in teaching painting classes for her cork and canvas events. My creative endevours started with drawing/painting…it was something I always did. 10 years ago I started long arming and time for painting slowly dwindled to nothing without my really noticing. Now, a few times a month I paint & teach a class. It’s very relaxing and I’ve found that my excitement for quilting and productivity has increased dramatically in just a few months!
I knit and crochet. But I think I am going to to more into cooking actual meals this year instead of planning them at the last minute…and get over my fear of my Kitchen Aid! I switch frequently because sometimes the sewing machine just vexes me!
Quilting is what I do to fill in my time off from coaching softball 10 months a year. Thank you for recognizing we all need a break, and its even good for us!
Great post, Maddie! I am dabbling in sketch booking and line drawing with Lisa Congdon on Creative Bug. A very thoughtful friend gave me a gift subscription and I am loving it! Walking is definitely on my list of meditative activities. Now, about that tuba playing, my sweet hubs has started practicing his tuba playing in the garage. He played in a college marching band, uhmmm, a number of years ago. Have to say he is improving. Happy New Year, Maddie!!
This is soooo well said! I love your focus on getting connected with real people (not just Instagram friends) and ESPECIALLY walking around in the outdoors in city or countryside.
Absofuckinlutely!!!
Yes, it is about balance. I love my quilting, but have been taking a little break to get my grove back. Too, often our passion cools as we narrow our world down, down, down. Keep it big, use your passion for quilting to create, not pound through the next quilt because someone has to be next. Make a quilt just for you, use colors outside your range, patterns that aren’t your style and let go of perfection. Get a gym membership and a trainer, go see movies that make you cry, read a book that makes you think and let someone else do something kind for you. It is called replenishing your soul….and when you replenish your soul, creativity will flow, sometimes in new ways. Happy New Year, may your thread never break, your stitches be straight and your fabric be plenty!!!!
Tubas are underrated!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nov641Hhubg
I love Ron Funches!