Thinking

 How do you think out a new quilt project?  One of the interesting things about Zoom is seeing what's going on in the background, behind the person who is on screen.  On the news I like to zero in on bookshelves to see what the guest or presenter is reading.  On Chooky's zooms with us quilters we see work spaces, design walls, and sometimes husbands.  I certainly check to see what's going to be seen off my shoulders before logging on. 

It's the design walls that intrigue me.  I don't have that kind of dedicated space. It's been said before that my sewing stuff is scattered all over the place.  Stash in a closet, machine in the bathroom closet, I cut in the kitchen, layout on the dining room table, applique in the living room and  if I   *gasp* use the machine, sew in the bedroom or sometimes dining room and, no design wall for me, I think things out on a spare bed.

It's the thinking time that takes up space and makes a mess for what can be a long time while I work it out in my sleep.  I toss fabrics onto the bed and  then sleep on the idea.   You've probably heard that if you need to solve a problem, find something that's lost or cook up an idea, put that image in your head as you go to sleep, have it be the very last thing you think of and the answer will come to you and stick.  There have been studies that show studying for an exam and going immediately to sleep helps the student retain what they just studied.    I believe that. I've found many lost things, thought through ideas and plans and sorted out my head that way.

I used that technique when thinking out this Zoom quilt.  It  helped me remember the map fabric I had in my stash - buried very deeply.  I thought of the patches of fabric/people all over the world and started on this.

 

I really worked through this map of Lowell in my head and  knew immediately what I would do after thinking it out over several nights.

I used a map a local woman drew of the city in the 1950's as my street pattern.  I knew the minute I saw her map that it would be a quilt someday.

And then there is this one. During the winter when I worked with third graders at the museum one of the things they learned was about the fur traders who came here. The person who  ran that activity had this map.  I knew I had to make this into a quilt  as a companion to the street grid map. 

I took it to the library and enlarged it on their machine. Two 11 x 17  pieces of paper with an expander.

I had a piece of tawny fabric that needed to be a little larger so gave it a top and bottom to fit the rivers.

And now comes the thinking part. Many years ago a friend made that little batik cabin and put it on a card for my birthday.  I  kept it these many years because it was going to be perfect for something someday.  I  gently peeled it off the card backing and it will be the fur trader's cabin on this quilt.  

But the rest?  The blue batik cut and wound will be the rivers.  I auditioned many blues to get to this one.   The real conundrum was whether to "represent" the Native villages with natural little squares appliqued - tiny ones, like the Zoom quilt but smaller, OR embroider the little trees and teepees. 
Last night I think I settled on the embroidery but there has to be something else, something to SEE. Like the cabin and in size relation to the cabin.   I'll figure it out, there's always tonight.