We’ve all been there. We have an idea for a quilt; we are finally ready to begin. We buy the fabric, we play a little, maybe even cut some pieces and place them on the design wall. But the grand idea doesn’t come together.
Frustration sets in. We question ourselves. Maybe a little imposter syndrome rears its ugly head into our psyche. What’s the path forward? How do I go to get this concept out of my head and onto my design wall in a meaningful way? Where do I go from here? I’m stuck.
What is a pivot?
The ability to pivot your quilting practice is actually a good thing. It builds on your strengths, your experiences, your knowledge and it challenges you creatively.
A pivot simply means you change direction for a quilt top or how you are quilting a quilt.
The Importance of Pivoting
Pivoting on a quilt or other project doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means you recognize when something isn’t working. Perhaps a color story isn’t singing or a secondary design isn’t popping the way you wanted; maybe your quilting isn’t quite coming together the way you’d like.
When you pivot, you figure out how to adapt and change the parameters to make your quilt work. Pivoting shows growth. Recognizing when it’s time to pivot can often be the difference between a quilt that excites and energizes you and a quilt you hate. There are too many quilts to make. You shouldn’t spend time piecing one that you don’t like.
So instead of second guessing yourself or worrying that your work isn’t good enough, the ability to pivot allows you to test new ideas; it allows you to build on your strengths by taking your skills, knowledge and passion to follow a new direction for a quilt top that aligns with your vision.
Why We Hesitate to Pivot
We usually hesitate to pivot for a few reasons.
- Judgment
For a fairly solitary art, there is a lot of community in quilting. We find community online, at guilds, through quilt friends and at a local quilt shops. The voice in your head can often be your best cheerleader and your worst judge.
If the project doesn’t work out will your quilting community think differently of you? If you share it with your community will people be harsh (kinds words matter, y’all)? Will you think differently of yourself if that happens? Will it affect your psyche if you stop working on a project? So. Many. Questions. - Sunk cost
Fabric is expensive and your time is worth something, too. You spent all this time and money to make a quilt. Walking away is a waste of time and resources. - Uncertainty
I think this is a big challenge for a lot of quilters. You’ve worked on a quilt. It’s not what you wanted but if you keep going can you change course? Can you take what you have and actually turn it into something beautiful that makes you proud or will you make things worse? Will you sink even MORE money into an awful project?
You Have To Change Your Mindset
Pivoting is a mindset.
The reality is that if you continue to work on a project that isn’t going anywhere it will drain your energy. You’ll regret going further than you should have. Pivoting means you respect your creative boundaries by changing your plan.
Pivoting in Your Quilting Will Help Your Practice Grow
If you view a pivot as a creative aid instead of a hinderance, your mindset changes.
It’s very uncomfortable to pivot and navigate a new path but you grow personally and creatively when you sit in that discomfort – when you are forced to think about your project differently, when you are forced to work within a set of constraints, when you have to analyze the material you have or blocks you’ve made – that is where you move forward and it could be the best gift you give to your quilty self. It could be the thing that moves you forward to create your best work and recognizing that you need to pivot might be the best decision you make for a quilt.
What You Gain With a Pivot
You can gain so much by simply acknowledging that you need to pivot. In addition to challenging yourself to create in new ways and you’ll gain fresh perspectives on how your scope of work can thrive. You’ll build resilience from taking a risk and navigating change, and it’s a confidence booster.
More importantly, the ability to pivot keeps your work from becoming stagnant.
Identify What Isn’t Working and Why
When your quilt isn’t coming together you need to determine what isn’t working and why. Sometimes you step back from your design wall (or floor, or bed, or….) and you can immediately see the problem. Other times, you need to look at your quilt for a while before taking any steps forward. While it’s never too late to change course, if you aren’t sure what the problem is, taking time to make a decision is always a good decision.
- Reflect on what you don’t like. Is it color, scale, value? Spend time figuring out what’s not working.
- Identify what you like. Take time to asses what you do like so you can lean into that design idea, color, or concept more.
Once you’ve identified the challenges then you can determine the best way to fix it.
Redesign
This is the hard part. Once you’ve figured out what you do and don’t like and now it’s time for the redesign. With quilts it could involve making more blocks, taking out blocks, adding a border, an accent color, or more. There are an infinite number of solutions if you have a quilt conundrum but the only thing holding you back is you.
Don’t be afraid to play and take risks. Remember, there’s great reward in quilty risk-taking. Don’t be afraid to pivot. AGAIN. Some of my favorite quilts saw multiple iterations before finally being sent into the world.
Make sure you have fun along the way. You’re pushing creative boundaries. It’s okay to get messy multiple times.
Stay True to Your Inner Artist
When we pivot it is very easy to try to take a quilt in a direction that doesn’t really reflect our voice and our style. Sometimes it’s the right thing to do to explore and grow. Sometimes it isn’t.
Whatever you decide I think it’s important to find your artist voice. It can take time to develop and your voice usually evolves. My work now is reminiscent of my early work but you can see how I’ve developed as an artist. My colors are the same but my technique is much better, I’ve honed in on my color sense and I know what I like and don’t like. Don’t be afraid to explore your voice, either.
Finding Your Voice
It takes time to find your voice but I think the biggest tool that helped me was the book, The Artist’s Way. It’s a 12 week program that was written and designed to help you unclog your creative pathways by identifying roadblocks.
I’ve gone through the book twice and I continue to journal daily. My Morning Pages have helped me process personal and creative challenges. I cannot recommend the book enough.
I’ve linked the notebooks that I use for my journaling. You can use anything you want. These are the ones I like best.
LINKY LOVE
SHOP: The Artist’s Way Book
NOTEBOOKS: Flame Tree Publishing
READ: The Artist’s Way Blog Post