Embracing the Mess

I hate messes and messiness. I straighten, organize, put away, and neaten on a regular basis. I make my bed every morning, I do the dishes while I cook, and I can tell you exactly where to find any book I own (crazy, I know).

But improv quilting is a messy affair. Last night I started the second quilt for the Miracle Foundation, another improv log cabin quilt. I cut strips, ironed them, and placed them into piles by color and length (did I mention I organize things compulsively?). And then I started making the blocks, at which point the neat piles turned into a disaster. I'm resisting the urge to straighten and reorganize the piles, knowing full well that they'll return to the messy mountain-like pile in minutes. Instead I cleaned up all the rest of the fabric that had strayed from the bins and took pictures of the mess.

So it's a good mess, and I'm trying to embrace it as I make progress on those log cabins.

Speaking of which, if you're looking for a tutorial on wonky log cabins, head over to Quilt Dad's blog where he's posting a variety of ways to make blocks (starting with the basic improv log cabin block). I'm a little more inlcined toward finger pressing and a little less dedicated to ironing each block every single time I add a log, but otherwise my steps follow his.