The Heart

For the first time in years I'm creating art. I have missed creative expression in my life so much. Although I've done hand work for almost as long as I can remember, there is a large difference between craft and creation. Using a pattern, the outcome it already pre-determined. It is a bit like having the picture on the box in front of you while creating a puzzle—it takes the mystery out of everything.

I had an idea for the heart in the back of mind. It sat there formulating and morphing the entire time I worked on the shoes. Yesterday, I spent time on the internet looking for patterns that would work for the quilting on the background. Here is a shift in direction for me—quilt first, finish later. Because a large portion of the vision I have in my mind includes flowers that aren’t flat, I knew I would have to quilt it before I finished it.

I also had an image of how the flowers grew out of the heart itself. I found several pages of designs that I thought might work. At this point, everything still had a nebulous feel in my mind, an idea half formed and still mutable. The designs I thought would work the best wound up tossed aside for one that I had some doubts about. As I laid fiddley bits on top, envisioning flowers, butterflies and more, I became so excited. The quilting solidified the vision to become exactly what I wanted!