I Was Blind But Now I See So I Practice Machine Quilting

I Was Blind But Now I See So I Draw & Practice Machine Quilting
Ways Of Making Color That Got Lost Are Coming Back
Letting Go By Binding Cloth Bundles
Textiles As A Holistic Practice

Change and transformation require hard work, dedication, an open mind and busy creative hands. Idle hands are the devil’s breeding ground. One eye healing with the ability to see clear vibrant colors and distance is a wonderful blessing. With 1.75 reading glasses, I can see close up well enough to start back drawing and learning machine quilting. Hallelujah! Near blind in the other eye, but I have sight!

Today I begin anew to heal my broken heart through creative hands and design thinking. My journey begins by exploring line as an element of art. Machine quilting wavy lines and drawing as contemplative mark making. Both free motion quilting and drawing share the ability to put me in a total mind and body pure creative state of being. I had to put both activities on hold since my mother’s death because of vision problems. But, now I can see out of one eye and I’m elated to once again be able to see clearly. I have astigmatism and have always worn glasses. Seeing clearly out of my eye is a new experience, and is not something that I take for granted. I’m humbled by my new sight, and boldly proclaim, “every time I turn around God is blessing me!”

Learning free motion machine quilting is like learning to play a musical instrument. I’m determined to invest the time and energy required to master it. I truly like machine quilting better than piecing a quilt top because it has a Zen like quality. I’ve just been unable to see well enough to do it well. But practice makes perfect! As an artist, I have a problem with sending quilts to a long arm service. I want to piece and quilt the entire process for myself, with my own creative hands. If others can learn free motion machine quilting, then so can I.  I may suck at free motion machine quilting today, but in 30 days I’ll be better and in 90 days I’ll be on my way to learning it.