Tuesday, February 8, 2011

what is PLAY

 What is PLAY?

Remember being a child and you could sit and play 
forever and one idea would lead you to another?
Without knowing where it will go the story keeps changing as you played?

So many of us forget how to play.
This is what I do when I want to BOOST my creative process... 
When I need an idea
I grab my scrap bins, and take all those little pieces, and very quickly, 
I work 15 minutes at a time,
 to make something useful of them...

 For instance, the above strips are the cut off bits from

making fabric from bits to make my "Auntie Quilt" 

Make the pieces,  and I find that if I sew
the other scrap together,
Some other idea will turn up  and I have yet another idea that needs 
to be PLAYED out.
Now I have strips, that I continually make, but I have no plan for them yet...

But as I make more, and I start cutting them up, and sewing 
them together, more ideas come...

I was given a box of Xmas scraps,  I sit, 15 minutes at a time, and I grab and I sew ,
and I cut, and then sew some more, 
then I decided they should be Diamonds...
I've played several times with these yet I have not had that bright idea 
yet what to do with them so I keep playing with them... it will happen.

 The best part of sewing quickly, without thinking ahead is you
come across color combos, patterns, or a technique and it sets you off
on a path you might not have ever set about making in the first place...

 These are a few 15 minute blocks I have made, 
I make a few of these every day.
Like a warm up for the day of sewing...
Getting the muscles loose and ready to run creatively.




 I made a few more and realized I really like the polka dots, and now I am 
on my way to making more 15 minute blocks focusing on the polka dots..

I don't jump ahead and think about Sashing or layout...
Just make. Don't think.

When I feel I have made enough, I will focus on the next direction.
I will play MORE, and try other ideas, Perhaps when I have 
100( or whatever) of these made,

I will see that a color stands out, 

or that I like the way they look on point, 

or that they need to be grouped in a certain way...

But I don't cross that bridge until I'm there...

This is PLAY.



This above photo, I started making blocks wrapping around 
a starting shape, 
and then I thought, "well, that's been done, what else can I do?"

What if I cut them what will happen to the pattern?  

Does it matter?

How do I work with the lines and the funny shapes it gives me...

Now what do I do with them?

do I use one back ground fabric? 
or do I try 2 or 3 or 4  etc..


Where you start, and where you end, should be a self discovery journey,
An in the end, your ultimate goal is to have come up with a quilt
that you have listened to intuitively, and you made a quilt that is 
UNIQUE to you as a Quilter.

Who you are as a quilter... 


If your a person who must follow a pattern, 
you can go back to that process later,
and you will find that your eyes have been widen 
a bit further to the possibilities of color, 
shape and values,  layout and composition, 
that you might not had otherwise...


Set about making a quilt that grows from one baby step to another... 
TRY NOT to start with a pre-determined destination
because you will miss the creative, "WHAT IF I DO THIS" moments.

Just PLAY.
That's what happens here.
Show us your PLAY and we will ooh and awe and encourage you to keep 
PUSHING the limits of your PLAY...

We want to see your Creative process, 
not to see the same quilts you see everywhere else...

Find inspiration from your own work
make something that only you can  make.


There are many links on the side bar, that can give you places to start.

From making fabric, to paper piecing scraps to Intuition quilts..

Find your 15 minutes today to get inspired.


15 minutes, is all I ask.  

See where it leads you...
You maybe surprised!


And we will all encourage you to keep pushing
the envelope of your creative process.

Let go of PLANS.
Let go of thinking ahead.

Just MAKE. 

and PLAY.



Happy PLAYING.


10 comments:

Sujata Shah said...

Oh what a wonderful post! Happy playing to you all. I know I am inspired!

Helen said...

Yes, I want to play. You just gave my swing a push, V!

Judi said...

You have been my 15 minute inspiration! Don't get to do every day with family lately, but I do try.

Katherine said...

I have been following this blog for a while. I finally got to play with my scraps this weekend. My goal is to make a block a day this month. So far so good.

Lynn said...

Thanks for such a terrific post. I needed to read this. I have not been a good playmate lately. But doing Sujata's block has gotten me going again and I have a new timer which helps a lot. I may need to periodically reread this.

Selvage Quilter said...

Helen said it best, "You just gave my swing a push too." Haha
Karen

Miki Willa said...

Very inspirational post. I love that you have created this place where play is accepted, even required. I would never have started a quilt like my intuition quilt without this place. Thanks, Victoria. I intend to keep playing.

Quilting By Celia said...

I really enjoyed your post. Thanks

Brenda said...

OK, I see a book proposal here. thanks for the post.

tropicslady said...

I want to join in the 15 minutes of play...I've already got a few blocks done and would love to share!