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Ever have one of those breakthrough moments all the while wondering — did I think this before? That was me the other night. I’m inbetween project stages. Waiting to move on, start something new, whatever. Coming off the excitement and overload of being at the Vermont Quilt Festival and how well received my two quilts were. Just felt like I should be in there, doing SOMEthing. But what?

I picked out some lovely fabrics and spread them over my ironing board. Just lovely. I arranged, rearranged, added, subtracted. I sat back and admired. And then I went to bed because I didn’t have a thought in my head as to what to actually do with these lovely fabrics.

Next morning, I get up. Go in, look at the fabrics on the ironing board. Just lovely. Go to work. Think about the fabrics now and then.

Go home, admire the fabrics. Go off and do other things but I don’t have a clue of anything to do with them. As I was getting ready for bed I had this FLASH.

I just don’t work that way. I NEVER start by pulling fabrics, no matter how lovely, together and saying – I think I’ll make something out of these. Let’s see, what could I make?

I always start with some sort of idea. A notion of colors or shapes or an overall image. I might make a thumbnail sketch of the design, do some figuring, take some notes. Then I go and pull out fabrics to make that thing happen. I adjust idea and fabrics as needed.

So BOOM – big self-realization. I actually grabbed my working notebook and wrote down these ideas so if I do get to the same point again, it won’t be such a surprise, LOL. But then, life is always full of surprises. And I went and put away the lovely fabrics for that moment when they are needed.

Meanwhile, tonight, a different kind of flash: