THE LAST WORD
Whatever the project, there always comes a time when you finish up and take it all in. Angie Wilson muses over the last moments of a creative process
Despite how much we procrastinate, most WIPs finally reach the stage where they become finished quilts. I always have a dual response to that moment… there’s the elation and satisfaction of having finished a project – that proud moment of seeing the quilt on my bed – but there’s also the feeling of loss as a project I’ve loved working on has come to an end. My hands are restless and I miss the enjoyment of the creative process.
After three fabulous years, I’m putting the final stitch in my time as the back page columnist for Love Patchwork & Quilting. I’ve had such an amazing time sharing my thoughts about this craft that I love so much. As much as we think about quilting as being about fabric, thread and batting, for me the real heart of quilting is the people and the community. It’s about being able to connect with someone over a shared love of fabric, colour, print and pattern. It’s about being able to create with my hands and share that experience with other people who love to do exactly the same thing. I have been so fortunate to be able to connect with those that share this love via the words on this page every issue, and it’s been a true blessing that I will forever be thankful for.
Right now, I’m battling the pride of being able to look back on a big stack of magazine back issues and knowing that a little piece of me is in all of them, and the adjustment that comes with the evolution of a relationship. But just like my quilts, I can always pull those issues out and reminisce about who I was when I wrote those columns, what I’ve learned since then and the many people that I connected with through those words. It reminds me that writing this column is just like quilting, it’s a time capsule. As quilters we get to save a little piece of who we were, where we were and what we loved in each quilt we make. When you think about it, that’s pretty special.
If I can leave you with some parting thoughts they would be this: the creative possibilities are limitless and you never know where you’ll end up, so just trust and take the leap. If you’re reading this and you’re procrastinating on finishing, starting or cutting into the good fabric, in the immortal words of Nike, “Just do it!”. Time is short, so don’t look back with regret because you didn’t do what you wanted.