No Grey Area Here

Get ready, this is going to be one of those deep thought type posts, but I'll try to keep it brief and fun.

I've been loving Instagram (you can find me @rubybluequilts) and the other day I posted a shot of these feathers that I had finished quilting.

Now, I've tried quilting feathers several different ways and the way I like the best is to just go for it without drawing a spine or quilting one first. I just sew from side to side and the spine comes about as I quilt.

Many people left comments about how they've never tried that before. They like the spine because they know where they need to go. My little blurb under my picture said I hate drawing the spine because it reminds me of people telling you to color inside the lines. This is quilting, there ARE NO RULES!!!

So, with all of that said, it got me to thinking...

When I quilt I am either super creative or super organized. There's no grey area. Now, I can do both at the same time in a project, but it's all one or the other, no compromise. I was telling this theory to a friend yesterday and she explained it as either OCD or ADD with quilting.

I know several people that have more of a mathematical or engineering background that tend to fall in the super organized category. They are precise and rip out stitches if the seam is off by two or three thread (yes threads, ick!) and they are very good at what they do.

But then I know several people that live in the colorful "throw everything together and make it work" world where their piecing may not be perfect everytime and that's good as gold to them. They're not afraid to take chances and try something new, but they are also very good at what they do.

I think I live in both of these worlds. My stash is ridiculously organized (or getting there) but I'm not afraid to pull whatever I can get my hands on and make a quilt. I like to piece and cut precisely, but if things get off a bit, no worries. I'm human. I stay up way too late and quilt before coffee some mornings and if I need to rip something out, it's not the end of the world. I never thought about it before, but I wouldn't change a thing. I like the precision that lets me do math and create new patterns, but I love my creative side that can actually visualize and play.

So, where do you think you fall in? Are you more precise or more creative? And please do not for a second think that I'm saying creative people aren't precise and vice versa. It's just much harder for a precise person to tackle a mystery quilt or an art quilt and a creative person would be bored in about 5 minutes after a much planned quilt (typically). Or, is there some component that I'm missing? Let me know where you fall in and let's celebrate that we all do this thing we love, but are able to do it in our own way!