Not only do I not arrange and pet my socks correctly, I am emotionally bonded with my "quilt stuff" and find it excrutiatingly difficult to divest myself of fabrics, notions, and books I might need some day. Nowhere in Ms. Kondo's best-seller is there any advice for the sewer/crafter who naturally collects tools and notions for his/her eventual work. We are, simply, outside her norm. And that's fine with me.
Answering the call for a Spring cleaning-theme blog, (See the blog hop links at the end-)I have put it on the line and hope that anyone who's actually visited my premises will be forgiving and not laugh aloud. Thank you.
The explosion of red fabrics above serves to show you what happens when my mind overloads with "I must make a red quilt." The result of this red riot was a quilt I gifted to my friend Fran. And yes, all that mess was necessary to eventually come up with the quilt.
Most of the time the fabric shelves are bulging and terribly messy.
And from time to time, the fabrics are neatened, patted in place, sorted and stacked. I try to do this once every 2-3 years.
I planned that the corner with Mom's rocking chair would be my little piece of hand-quilting zen territory. Instead it's turned into the staging area for quilts going in-and-out of huge bags as I pack/unpack from teaching trips. This is truly as neat as it gets.
At least in #2
At least in picture #2 you can see the chair.
Meanwhile I ponder why my art is so messy in its making. The quilts I sew are mostly patchwork and arranged in blocks. Perhaps my lifelong obsession with quilting is my feeble attempt at controlling the world around me. The only way I know to present order, beauty, and warmth at the same time.
Meteor Shower left
Chinese Coins right
Flower Market right
To paraphrase the bumper sticker: shit happens, art happens, quilts happen.
Shimaco with sashiko stitching
6 comments:
My Creative mess is way worse! NO showing of mine and nobody ventures into the ZONE! The scraps multiply while I am sleeping, I swear!
I have the same problem/obsession/gift! I can sew as long as I can clear a space to cut and sew. As my wise mom used to say, "What do you remember, that the house was clean or we had fun?"
I have the same problem/obsession/gift! I can sew as long as I can clear a space to cut and sew. As my wise mom used to say, "What do you remember, that the house was clean or we had fun?"
I love creative messy spaces much more than super well organized clean spaces that make me feel I can't do anything because I might mess something up. Beautiful eye candy in this post. :D
I love the serene colors and rows in the Chinese coin quilt. And the shimaco sashiko piece is amazing, i have not seen anything like it. Now I am itching for some handwork...
I am decluttering and spring cleaning a la Marie Kondo. I think hobby stuff is mentioned just once under "komono." Clearly housekeeping IS her hobby so she may not personally have a craft hoard to deal with! I am sorry when I hear people feeling badly after reading it, since I am benefitting ftom it and do is my quilting.
Since her basic premise is to keep only what "sparks joy" my quilt books and fabric stash are staying, joyfully guilt free! For the most part, that is --- i felt like her book helped me realize I do not really like saturated purples, or the feel of some flannels, and it is okay to admit that and let them go!
After a little decluttering I am finding more room to stretch out my studio space and make it better organized and accessible in the common area of the house. A huge rolltop desk in the dining room was replaced with craft cabinet and a design wall, for example. I have more time to quilt as chores go faster with half the clothes and dishes around too, and less stuff in the way when vacuuming and dusting.
To me the book is not about creating a visually minimalist space, but creating a space that makes joy the priority. For me, that will look and function more like a workshop, and not a model home. Does that make sense?
Pablo Picasso once said that every act of creation is first an act of destruction. That is my excuse for messy!
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