I have been in Cannes at the Lions Festival of Creativity for the past four days, and haven’t had much time for quilting. It has been a great time with lots of learnings for my day job, inspiring creativity, and more than a few glasses of rose. On my flight back yesterday I was cleaning out my inbox, and a series of emails caught my attention. I get “daily doses of inspiration” and this week they worked for life and quilting. 

The emails come from Silvia Christmann and they are a nice moment to reflect and center yourself. The first one, breathe, definitely applies to quilting. Have you ever started a massive quilt and felt overwhelmed? Well, “breathe” is a simple reminder to take a moment and then start. By breaking the large project into smaller tasks it doesn’t feel so overwhelming. 

This one is related in that I always visualize the outcome of the quilt before I start. Of course this is true in drawing the design and so on, but then I stop and visualize the finished piece, both practically and emotionally. Who is it for?  How will they react? How will it make them feel? I then channel those emotions into my work. 

This is a good one too and one that I have to hold more true. I tend to go back to the same patterns because they are quick, easy and I know they will be great. But I want to forget patterns and let my creativity grow. This requires a leap of faith that I am willing to take. 

Building on that theme, I will drop the ball. I am working on a quilt for Justin, a friend in my office. He got divorced, moved into Manhattan and has had his own evolution. The quilt I am doing I would call structured improv – definitely outside my comfort zone but definitely looking good. More on that later. 

And lastly, the moment is now. I am done putting projects away for a rainy day. I am done stalling because I don’t think I can handle something. Let’s give it a go!

You can sign up to receive your own daily dose of inspiration at http://silviachristmann.com.