Thursday, November 17, 2011

pressing in

I mark time by the passing of Guild meetings. This past year, I have clung to our monthly challenges like a drowning man to a log. Having some small project to work on has been healing and joyful.
I actually finished the November challenge early because I knew my spare time was going to be a scarce commodity as the month wound down, or up as the case may be.
I pieced and sliced and stitched and pressed.
I gripped the edges of the little quilt and roared all over the surface with machine quilting. Hmmmm, not bad, only picked out two sections.
A day or two passed. My little quilt winked and glowed on the fireplace mantel.
Then last evening, as I perused notes taken almost a month ago, my eyes fell on the November Challenge criteria--- must be a variation of nine patch,check, must contain GREEN. Oh oh.
No green.
I squinted at the tiny print in vain.
Absolutely no green.
Now a challenge isn't a challenge if it doesn't meet the criteria.
I toyed briefly with appliqueing a green leaf in the centre.
Then it struck me.
This mini quilt is an object lesson.
I had toiled away, oblivious that I was missing some of the information. Some of the necessary information.
Time was short, life was pressing in, and something was lost in the translation.
There in lies the real challenge. I must remember the criteria, what is the necessary, the important. And that will take the challenge out of the challenging.

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