Thursday, September 25, 2008

10 Lessons



Ten lessons I learned from quilting, stamping and writing

This is a version of the talk I gave at my launch parties last week, so if you couldn’t make it, you won’t miss out. In fact, I’ve added one lesson, so you’re actually winning.

10. There’s always a point where you look at what you’ve done and you’re tempted to throw it out and start over. Resist the urge.

9. You don’t need to know where you’re going. You’ve heard it before, but it is truly about the journey. Give in to not knowing where you’re headed. Often you find a more interesting path.

8. Quilts and books are like houses. A house needs a roof and four walls and a bathroom and a kitchen, but beyond that, the rest is up to you. Your quilt, your stamping project or book has to follow certain conventions, but there is a lot of leeway within that structure to make it your own.

7. Know that there’s a lot of work to be done, but don’t let that stop you. It’s helpful to work in chunks, and celebrate each time a chunk is finished.

6. Learn to take criticism. Finding someone who can be an impartial judge of your project, and can suggest new ways of looking at your work, will help you to soar to unimagined heights. Critiquing is a good thing.

Continued next Friday…

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Celebrate the chunks. I need to remember that one. The long haul can get touch without this.

Monica Ferris said...

I know that about letting the journey show the way when it comes to writing, I just never thought about it in making a scrapbook. I never did do my Thailand trip scrapbook, though all the pieces are in a big plastic bag. I saw all those fancy scrapbooks and scared myself out of even trying. Bad decision, especially with the useful "chunks" advice.

Terri Thayer said...

When you say it like that, celebrate the chunks, it sounds kind of gross. But especially for your can't-talk-about-it yet-but-soon-you'll-make-a-big- announcement, project, you'll need to celebrate a lot.

I am available for chunk celebrating.

Terri Thayer said...

Yes, Monica. It's especially hard when you see perfect finished projects. We never see the bits that were discarded or tossed aside. That's true for quilts, scrapbooks and books. We need to remember that they all started somewhere.

Betty Hechtman said...

I definitely believe in the chunk philosophy. That's one of the reasons I like crocheting squares so much. They have a built in chunk quality.

Camille Minichino said...

Nice start on 10 through 6 Terri!
For a miniaturist chunks are defined by glue. Every time I glue one piece to another I celebrate!

Lots of ice cream consumed here.