Being "Creative"

Do you consider yourself "creative?" 

We use that word often in our every day speech, especially if involved with any kind of artsy-type activity (or raising of children): 

"Oh, what a great fabric choice--it makes the quilt!!  You are so creative!"  

"I would have never thought of using neon purple zebra foil paper in a baby card!  Your creative juices were really flowing!!"

"If you want to get your four year-old to eat brussel sprouts, you'll have to be very creative!"

So, what does being "creative" mean?  Dictionary.com lists the definition as....

cre·a·tive   [kree-ey-tiv] adjective

1.having the quality or power of creating.

2.resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc.; imaginative: creative writing.

3.originative; productive (usually followed by of ).

4.Facetious . using or creating  exaggerated or skewed data, information, etc.: creative bookkeeping.

Let's go through the definitions backwards and see how they apply to us.....  First of all, I'm sure none of us indulge in the fourth definition--we would never "cook the books" or try to lie with statics, right?  So that one doesn't (more accurately, shouldn't) fit into our quilting or any of our artistic outlets.  The third definition gets closer to our objective--how a group of "somethings" makes use of an imaginative approach (Paper, Figure and the New Casual Creativity of iOS ).

Now, we're getting closer to the heart of the matter with the second definition, "resulting from the originality of thought."  Hmm, having an original thought....that encompasses everything from getting all your homework done so you still have time to play to writing a poem to quilting a design that enhances the patchwork to inspiring a toddler to swill down brussel sprouts with vigor!  You're trying to have a thought that no one else has ever had-- think about that for a minute--a thought no one else has ever had in order to make life more pleasant or beautiful.

Okay, my head is swirling a bit as we move onto the next definition...."having the quality or power of creating."  In my experience, this is done in degrees.  None of us are so Omnipotent that we can speak and something comes into existence, so we convert something we already have into something different.  For example, cutting up pieces of perfectly good yardage and resewing them to make a quilt top.  Or dragging a pencil/paintbrush/crayon/marker across a page and sharing an image from our minds never before seen by human eyes.  

Our term is now defined.  If we look at the question again, "Do you consider yourself creative?" will you answer "yes"?  You should--certainly most of what you do every day requires creativity. My husband would never consider himself to be creative because he doesn't do "art."  Of course, he takes fantastic pictures, plans incredible vacations and solves a myriad of problems in work, all of which require the same creative thinking as it does for me to apply a quilting design to a quilt. As a first grade teacher, I needed a certain amount of creativity to teach reading, writing and arithmetic, while keeping everyone in their chair at the same time.  Even our kids come up with creative ways to avoid chores.  Being creative does not always have an artistic outcome.

So, should "creativity" only apply to the arts?  I don't think so.  In my humble opinion, creativity should be a way to make your life more enjoyable, whether it means you have a gorgeous quilt to keep you warm, a photograph that transports you to an exotic location or you've successfully vanished under the guise of homework before you mother reminded you for the sixth time to take out the trash.

The best part of creativity seems to be inspiring more creativity in a variety of directions!  That special photograph might have the color combination that makes a ho-hum quilt pattern drop-dead gorgeous!  One quilting idea that doesn't make the quilt sing might be just what the next quilt needs.  These are good things!  And, much to our daughters' dismay, I cannot think of one creative advantage to not doing your chores!


 I plan on making more of an effort to look for those creative toe-holds in my daily routine that will keep my mind fertile for new quilting ideas to sprout.  And, will be assured that regardless of what I'm doing in my daily routine, creativity is playing a part. 

 As always, your comments are appreciated!

Wooly Wishes May Block is Posted!

It's time for May's block for Wooly Wishes!  "Spring Has Sprung All Over Ewe" is how I imagine a sheep, thrilled that winter is over, looks after frolicking in a flower-filled field--a little grass stained and covered in wild flowers!  The complete pattern can be found on my website, Ewes Quilting.

Would love to see any blocks you've made--send your pictures to carole@ewesquilting.com! 

A Quilter's Highest Compliment

In 1999, my dear husband and I were expecting our second baby in October, while my dear friend was expecting her first.  In fact, we were due a day apart!

Well, we welcomed two little bundles into the world that October: our Sarah arrived 17 days early and Ethan three weeks after that.   Apparently, due dates are not an exact science.

Anyway, I was given the highest of compliments and was asked to be Ethan's godmother!  Well, no godson of mine could go without a quilt, so I got to work and made him sailboats set in an Irish chain for his first Christmas.  It was pretty cool--the sails were three-dimensional and had novelty fabrics hidden behind each flap.

Here's what it looked like a few days before I gave it to him...

When I give a quilt, the best I can hope for is that people use it once in a while and feel all the love I stuff in the stitches.  And when I give a quilt to a child, the way their parents view the gift usually has the greatest influence on the recipient.

Fast forward to Christmas 2012--I asked how the quilt was doing since I hadn't seen it for a while.  I knew it was well loved and appreciated, but didn't realize quite how much......

The handsome quilt holder is my dear sweet husband who involved me in quilting nearly twenty years ago!!

Can you see how extremely well loved that quilt is??  Take a minute to click on the picture and get a good look.  You might even need to look twice at some parts to see them once. My friend and her husband were a bit embarrassed to show me what it looked like and after some coaxing, started telling me about the adventures the quilt shared with their family.  Have to say, Ethan made some pretty impressive improvements to that quilt!!  I have a wonderful godson!

Seeing this quilt eleven years later was the greatest compliment I've every received as a quilter--someone loved what I made so much they used it up!

Where Did April Go?!?

Wow!!  Has time been flying for you, too?  Traditionally, March is a very slow month, April starts to gain some momentum, May is a blur and June evaporates, but this year, it's been worse than usual!  Maybe our mild winter is causing this phenomenon?  If you figure it out, please post a comment and let me know!

In an attempt to figure out where the time has gone, I looked back through my pictures (Can you tell I got a new camera for Christmas?!?  Our girls are just thrilled!!) and found some of the quilts that have been occupying my time.

Some friends have had a top or two that needed some quilting, so I helped them out by quilting them.  Here's a mini quilt show of the talented ladies I know and their amazing quilt tops......(that sentence doesn't sound right in every context, but all the quilters out there understand me, right?).......

 

Lots and lots and lots of feathers!!!

Perhaps I've been so involved with my quilting machine, I've not noticed the hours flying by?  Appreciate all the friends who have trusted me with their quilts--thank you!!