Considering that I am totally disorganized, and live in constant clutter, there is a part of me that yearns for order. And that part of me is a quilter. I love taking beautiful pieces of fabric, sorting them out, pitting color and value against color and value, and creating patterns with them. The geometric patterns, symmetrical in design, but varied in color, appeal to me the most. (Even my doodling is symmetrical...most of them turn out to look like a quilt block.) One of my favorite old time patterns is the Log Cabin. With it, I can indulge my love of color, riotous color, and still fulfill my need for order. I get such satisfaction from laying the blocks together, experimenting with the "logs" and trying out the fabrics against each other. This week, I basted the Log Cabin I pieced on the machine a few weeks ago, and began the quilting process. It has been a long time since I have done any quilting, but after a few inches, my stitches began to resemble the tiny ones I did in the past. I have let the fabrics tell me what design to quilt on the blocks. The center three rows in each block are circular; the rest are grid-shaped. A lovely symmetry is beginning to develop. This quilt is really a rather large wall-hanging for the day care center that is part of our Early Head Start program. I had promised to do it last spring, and it was really hanging over my head (hmmm, pun here? Not intentionally.). Now I wonder why it took me so long to get at it. Quilting is very relaxing for me (peaceful, even), and I have enjoyed building the design with tiny stitches. My days at work have been chaotic, as I try to create this new job. It's a temptation to use the quilt as a metaphor for my work life, but I'm afraid that's a little too neat! I haven't been able to find the pattern in my days. And I need pattern, even if my desk top doesn't look it. The only constant, at this point, is the Child Development class with the parents that I've written about so often. Maybe it will all come together. I hope so, because this hodgepodge of responsibilities is very unsettling for me. I've been brushing up on Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. This quilting business is the Spatial side of me, I guess. Even though I'm sure I am mostly Linguistic, my need to reproduce in quilts, or even my poor sketching, or my interest in classroom arrangements must be Spatial Intelligence. I wonder if the years of sewing, beginning when I was 4 or 5, helped develop this part of me. Anyway, it's interesting to think about (and relates to how we need to provide opportunities and experiences in all the categories to young children). I hope the quilt we are beginning to make in the Child Development class will help the parents develop a new side of them. Working with fabric, colors and patterns will be a good experience for them, I think.
Talked to DB tonight; it was nearly midnight in Madrid, and nearly 6:00 p.m. here. It was so good to talk to him. The time change has meant that we didn't touch base with each other as we usually do. He called me last night, but I was working. I was so disappointed to realize I missed his call then, but happy to hear his voice on the machine. This has been a very long week.
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