28 July, 2014

"It's The Journey"

"It's The Journey" ~ 49" X 61"
After months of deliberation "It's The Journey" has become a full-fledged flimsy; and a life lesson! What started out as the ultimate LQS border challenge has resulted in a well defined wall hanging that has named itself... and taught me a lot along the way. Let me recap the process that brought this quilt top into existence. Back in January I posted here about the project and showed my progress to date. At that time I decided to name this one "The Long and Winding Road"; I was naive enough back then to think I knew, sort of, where this might be headed and that I might have a bit of control!  By the end of January, with the selection of the third border (squares) and color (brown) I was flummoxed and desperate for help; I posted that plea here. By now I was referring to this project as "Destination: Unknown" which it remained until only recently.  By early May I was propelling this along by changing things up, cutting corners, and adding appliqué. Eventually, the outer black seemed necessary to rein it all in and keep the center contained. The final design elements selected, at the end of May, were appliqué and the color(s) red, yellow and/or blue. I machine appliquéd the words, they became the best definition for what this entire challenge represented. Suddenly it all became crystal clear to this quiltmaker: it never had been about the destination at all, but rather, the journey.  Given the chance I'd set out all over again on another one; I'm grateful for the challenge.
Life is Good!

8 comments:

Quiltdivajulie said...

Well said!!! Here's to the ongoing journey!!

Nane said...

Makes me want to sing the Aerosmith song with the line "Life's a journey, not a destination....." Love your finished project

Janet O. said...

I love where you have taken this, Mrs. G.--or where it has taken you! : )

NanaNor's said...

Hi there, Love this and the saying!
Beautiful work. Thanks for sharing.
Noreen

jude's page said...

Looks fantastic, wonder where my borders project will go, am about to add flying geese as the second border!

AnnieO said...

You twisted with every turn on this journey--I think you did an amazing job of it! Congrats on getting to the flimsy part of the trip:)

Karen said...

This is a great quilt and I love the story.

Tanya said...

Oh my, that is just gorgeous!!! And what a fantastic saying you've appliqued on it too. I thought your picture was a book cover! You have made an awesome quilt. Wish I'd joined you on the journey.