Find Joy in the Small Things
Find Joy in the Small Things
I’m in the process of making a king sized quilt. It’s a 9-patch variation quilt so it has many small parts. Making the small parts of this quilt is not my favorite thing so I always do the “not my favorite part” first.
The smallest parts of this quilt are what make it look so beautiful. It makes a diagonal crisscross pattern over the entire quilt. Most 9-patch variations use a dark color for the crisscross pattern so that it’ll really pop out and is pleasing to the eye. For this particular quilt, I chose to use gray with a flower print, and a black print. The crisscross variation is made from making many 4-patch squares and each one will be a 2 ½ inch square when completed. For this king sized quilt, I’ll be making 540!!!
Sometimes when I’m sewing many pieces together or pressing several blocks at once, I will watch an episode of Quilt TV on my big screen in my sewing studio. Most of the time though I just sew or iron. All this time gives me time ponder; to think, reflect or plan. It’s during times like this that I get those “aha” moments about sewing, quilting or just life in general. Many problems are solved and life just seems better. It was during the sewing and pressing of all these little blocks that I realized that these little blocks were going to make a big impact on the finished quilt. Just like in life, it’s all the really great, small things that happen during the day that make the whole day wonderful. Most of the time, we focus on the negative or we worry or conjure up some make believe, crazy scenarios in our mind. I realized that these “bad” thoughts drain us and make us feel less important or not as confident. I also realized that there are more great, small things that happen during the day. I actually took time and counted all the great, small things that happened during that day. They way out numbered the negative. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t get past two or three negatives that day. I realized that the great, small things really stood out and made me feel productive, appreciated, and loved.
Just like these small 1 ½ inch small rectangles will stand out and make this huge quilt beautiful, I challenge you to let the great, small things that happen during your day stand out and make your day glorious.
Blessings to you always,
Pam