This Quilt Makes Me Happy

finishing improv quiltmaking Sep 14, 2022

Not to replace actual therapy, but there are times when the creative act is indeed what we need to move through our feelings.

Pink is a happy colour for me. When I pulled out the sample block that started this quilt - an experiment in a class I was teaching - the colour spoke to me. It was months later and I was in a place where I could start to see happy again. Playing with pink became something I was compelled to do right then! So I started and over the summer came back to this project. For soon it became more than a few blocks and a full fledged intentional quilt.

There were challenges. I ran out of the hand dyed pink but wanted a bigger quilt. No problem, just dye more fabric. Part way through the blocks I realized I grabbed the wrong white fabric at some point. Tear out and redo or forge ahead? I chose to forge ahead and pretend that the whole thing was a choice. On the subject of a bigger quilt I almost went for straight borders. Almost. But that white fabric mix up gave me a creative idea and I created something like a border but with an extended pink design and a continuation of the patchwork of different whites.

I thought a lot about my mental health while making this quilt. I let it frustrate me, then challenge me, then show me joy. I did, indeed, have to feel all those emotions as a therapist would have me do. 

My plan for quilting is a mix of machine and hand quilting. I want to sit with the pink a bit more so am looking forward to the hand quilting in the coming winter months. And if you think this is happy, wait until you see what I chose as the backing!