Quilting & Seasons of Change

Surely you saw this topic coming considering the blog title. When making a quilt we take pieces of fabric and patch them together to create something beautiful, shouldn't our live be just as beautiful?

Let's consider the pieces:

    Family                        Education                        Hobbies

    Friends                      Career                             Adventure

    Health                        Travel                              Fun

    

When we patch all these pieces together the outcome should be a life we love, but what if that's not the case? Have we failed? Absolutely not! I always say, "Life's a journey, enjoy the ride."

I believe we have to consider the chapter of life we are in; it can't be roses and sunshine all the time. Life changes, people change and sometimes things get lost, worn down or worn out along the way. So, in this regard we need to take a new look at things and decide if a piece no longer fits.

For example, let's take my life at the moment. The last of my children have graduated and are planning to go off to college or start their lives doing something else. My life as a mom is changing, because I will no longer have children at home. I feel stuck some days as if I'm unsure what to do. I've lost interest in doing things I normally enjoy, because I'm more caught up in my thoughts, wondering what life at home will be like when I wake up in the mornings and the house is empty. Their lives are shifting and changing, therefore mine will as well. 

Let's plug in a visual here, in the form of a quilt that I plan to transform.

 I purchased this at a quilt show over a year ago with a plan in mind to make it over into something new and different. Some of the seams were coming undone and a few of the fabrics could use to be replaced. 

My vision was of a crazy quilt with a variety of embellishments. The thing is I had no idea when I would have time to accomplish this, but it was too good of a deal to pass up.

Earlier this year I sat down to take the top apart in order to free up some space in my quilt room. I wanted to salvage the stars and throw out the rest.  The process took several hours with many breaks so my hands could rest.

The sashing would have been salvageable, but not something I wanted use and so out it went with the backing and batting. I was able to access each star as I went and only lost three in the process.

The outcome for the days' work was this pile of stars and I can still envision what this will someday become. With many projects on my shelves that need finished, these were placed safely away for the day I bring that vision to life.

Perhaps, this new chapter of my life will bring about more time to sew and quilt filling my days while the girls begin their own new chapters as young adults.

What shifts and changes are happening in your life now? 

Can you envision something new and different in the near future?