lost in the weeds again

Don't you just love it when you get caught in the flow of life? Sometimes it seems that you just do work. Life is just one step--and then another. Then suddenly--inspiration hits. Or at least that is how it seems to me. Recently my life steady. Now there is nothing wrong with steady. I like knowing what I have to do.  In the morning I rush to the "garden formerly known as the vegetable garden" and see what's in bloom.  Ah a Japanese iris--the anticipation and promise of the furled flower. My daylilies have so many scapes--they will be magnificent this year.

For now I weed and mulch. I never get finished--always more grass that grows. The violets that need to be pulled up. Goldenrod--beautiful but not in the garden. I put the weeds in my basket--they haven't bloomed yet. I can dump them on the compost pile. In a couple years they will be dark rich additions to the soil. How virtuous I feel. Always I get something done. If only I was always this good at weeding--oh well. There is a saying that a Zen student should embrace the weeds.

Then off to finish the big order. Add the binding. Pick the threads. One step just leads to the next.  What should I make next? A show I would love to do again writes that they will accept artists who have exhibited previously if these artists can show that they are doing exciting new work.

I love a challenge. What if? Suddenly my mind returns to all the sketches I have made in those quiet moments at shows. Those pieces that I know I want to make--if only I can realize them. I see a theme--a concept. I need five quilts for this show. Maybe a couple that I have already made can be tied in. I'll see how much I can get done. I sketch. Think. Sketch again. There are so many ideas just there--like the flower bud just waiting. Rough sketches. They will flesh out. Open.

And then start. If I think too hard I know I will scare myself. I tell my DH I have a great idea. It may work.  I start sewing immediately. Make the one I know the best--let the others follow. The idea is too new to explain even to my DH just yet.  I want to get that sound footing--that base from which I fine tune the other quilts. Oh yes, these colors are lovely. Such potential.

Isn't it exciting? Can I get it done? Will the quilts hold together? Does it even matter? Too much to think about. Time to do some more weeding. Relax. Maybe that is the key to inspiration. What do you think? What are your tricks?  Can you create a series of works or do they just happen?