Letting go… when it’s time to let go
Lately, all of my free time I’ve devoted almost entirely to piecing my latest creation together. After feeling under the weather at the beginning of the week I was almost manic about catching up I guess. Though the race is with myself, I have the funny notion that I can’t get behind. In a very real sense this is true because I have a tendency to slack off if I don’t put pressure on myself.
Yesterday we had the pleasure of visiting one of our long arm quilters and dare I call her a friend. Every time we visit with her and see the quilts that she has laid out, stuffed in a cubby, or draped on one of her beds, it makes me want to go home and quilt myself into oblivion.
We have five quilts out being quilted at the moment and of course have them staggered to arrive back home over the course of the next two months. At home however, we only have three quilts large enough for our bed with a few lap quilts and minis thrown in. Four of the five are large enough for at least double to queen size. It got me thinking though… how many quilts should I be keeping and how many should either be sold or given to friends and family?
We haven’t discussed it really. I’m sure Kay wouldn’t think I was funny if I told her we needed to have a hundred!! I suppose because at the moment I feel that we don’t have enough for ourselves and every quilt that goes out the door represents literally weeks of work that we won’t personally see the benefit of. I know that the ones we’ve given out were very much appreciated, but have a difficult time letting go of them all the same. I would say that I’ve even given blood for some of them (I really have to watch where I’m putting my needles sometime).
Yes… even the ones with obvious mistakes I have difficulty letting go of and provides no end of amusement for Kay. I don’t know if people realize the care, joy, love, frustration, time, and angst that goes into each step of making a quilt. Quilts made by hand and not an assembly line, with quality fabrics and personal attention are worth far more intrinsically than anything that a store could put up for sale. Which brings me to the other facet of why I have such a difficult time letting go… will it be appreciated?
This is not an easy question and for me is a difficult thing to get past. In the end though, I can only hope that what I’ve made and given finds a good home and is well-used by the recipient.
Books quilts and sewing 