The Devil's Workshop is Decorated in Orange

I can say that it's rare to find my hands idle. Or my brain for that matter. I am addicted to the creativity and sensory experience of quilting and knitting. The excitement that comes with that first glimmer of a new project has particular allure. Whether it is inspired by a new fabric, a new yarn, a new technique or the tactile need to stroke the fabric, I almost can't wait to start. However I know me. I'll jump in head first and worry about the details later which always ends up creating more stress than relieving it. So as I've gotten older, middleaged if I live to the ripe old age of 110, give or take a year, I've committed to staying true to what brings me pleasure.





You see, my quilting friends are to blame. They are incredibly talented. Cindy's the designer, Sue's the color guru, Melissa's schtick is creativity & fun, Trudy's meticulous in the planning, Jani's the productivity queen, Jeanne's going to eventually make me appreciate Country colors, Julie is the do-it-all-and-still-fit-in-quilting Mom and Diana excels in her soft and classic use of color. I just wish I could make anything as well as they can. I tried being the designer using classic angles and unclassic wedges. I was hopeless. It bored me to tears. I tried speed quilting. I learned to hate story problems all over again. "If a quilter chains 1000 pieces of a quilt, how many times will she have to reverse sew before imbibing in 3 stiff shots of Scotch???" But colors?? You betcha. Nary a one has the pizzazz of Sue's incredible use of color, value and patterns. However, I have settled on what I do well. I use orange. My use of orange started a few dozen round robins ago. I applied orange with confidence. However, when I saw my quilting buddys' (herein QB's) eyes fall out and bounce on the floor twice, I thought I may have overdone it. My use of orange may have been a bit bold...


However, over the years I have learned that it's important to use the gifts God gave me. Some days it seems the gift basket was overstuffed with tissue and had the appearance of abundance when in reality, there was a teeny little gift in the bottom of the basket totally overshadowed by fun & colorful tissue. But when I look really closely, I realize how much joy that little gift brings me. I have a passion for color, maybe not those country colors yet, but bright, bold, energizing colors. They bring me comfort, enliven my psyche, and keep me lapping up those 1/2 yard pieces of the newest and brightest colors in my locals shop. My use of orange has matured. I can now use snippets of orange instead of the bold splash of an orchard. But I think it will be a sad day if I lose my passion for the most wonderful color in the entire spectrum!