Back in August last year, I shared a photo of an abandoned creative project - a large pile of painstakingly cut fabric strips. The skeleton of a patchwork quilt.
Making one was a long-held dream that felt so exciting in theory, but not in reality.
Luckily for me, my mum offered to take the project on, and a couple of weeks ago she delivered the finished article in person.
It’s absolutely gorgeous.
Over 1000 individual fabric squares, accurately and beautifully sewn together, then backed, quilted and trimmed. It’s a labour of love and a work of art that has taken her many hours over several months.
Along the way she has made friends with YouTube, sought out advice and the right materials, and ended up completing something she is super proud of.
I love it, and it’s even more special because I know just how much time, energy and effort has gone into it.
Creating something beautiful takes time and energy - in life as well as patchwork quilts.
Whether it’s making, building, growing, or working towards something - a piece of art, a business, a new version of ourselves - it’s a process that generally can’t be rushed.
Of course, we want to!
We have a vision and we really want to have it as fast as possible.
Which means we can underestimate the work needed to bring it to life, and then get disheartened when it doesn’t go to plan - or we compare where we are with someone who has already finished, or think we need to do it all on our own.
That’s when we can get stuck.
So, if you’re working on your own labour of love, keep going!
And remember that it’s a process that takes time, that needs us to get stuck in and do the thing, to take it step by step, and to ask for the help we need along the way - it doesn’t have to be a lonely journey.
Wishing you a week of enjoying the creative process,
