I’ve been away teaching at the 2007 NQA Quilt Conference in Ohio. It seems that no matter how many years I have traveled to teach quilting, I cannot seem to streamline the amount of time and energy it takes to prepare before a trip and to return to normalcy when I am home again. Thus, I am slow in many aspects of my life these days, including writing an entry for my journal.
The quilt show in Columbus was amazing. The creativity, skill and sheer hours that were invested in the quilts entered in the quilt show are amazing. There are so many gifted quiltmakers whose quilts speak of the vision, talent, and perseverance they posses. Often, as I look at a quilt I think of it’s maker and the qualities displayed in her/his work. For some quiltmaking is a business, for others it is a hobby, but the universal quality they all share is a passion for the vision born within themselves.
Whenever I teach applique design, which I did again at the NQA Conference, I am amazed at the natural gift for design that is quickly apparent in my students. With a little instruction on forming applique shapes and simple ideas for pattern formats, every student approaches her own blank sheet of pattern paper with confidence and ideas of her own.
I am convinced again and again when I teach classes, or walk through a quilt show, that we are all capable of greater things that we allow ourselves to believe. There is greatness in everyday people just waiting to be born.