Quilt the Book

I signed up for an online class called Quilting 101- Patchworking the Perfect Plot by Suzanne Johnson.  The class started weeks ago while I was preparing for my book launch, but I'm still eager to dive in to the lessons and do them even though I couldn't participate along with the class.  The opportunity to take this class got me pondering how long it's been since I actually quilted a quilt.  (Like some stories I've written, I do have some unfinished quilts waiting in line for my attention.)

Anyone who has been in my home has seen what quilts mean to me and how I adore them.  They are my passion, my pass-time.

Yes, I'm a quilter.  There's something about cutting out shapes of different prints and textures and sewing them all together.  I've got quilts hung on my walls.  Quilts draped over beds.  I've made quilts as gifts.  Taught quilting classes.  I LOVE quilts!  (Though I still haven't made the most coveted quilt of all— the Amish quilt, deep winter colors set against black.)

Many years ago, when LTC was stationed at Fort Leavenworth, it was always a boon to visit a quilting store that I loved, located in Osage, Kansas.  I have to admit I never got to Paduka, KY, to visit the Quilting Museum there.  That had been one of my goals.  But LTC took me to Keepsake Quilting in New Hampshire years ago.  Keepsake Quilting is a fabulous store where everything is quilted or catered to quilting.  In fact, I've been getting their catalogue for years and flipping through the pages wishing I had more time and my fingers were nimble enough to quilt those tiny stitches again.

But I digress.  Why?  Nothing we do is for nothing. 

You see, my love of quilting also prepared me for piecing together characters and plots, conflict and motivation, goals and resolutions in my writing.  Consistent stitches reflect the overall theme that must be weighed against every essence of story structure, as well as every day I sit and type at the keyboard.  Perfectly squared edges or rounded borders have to fit their partner pieces in order to complete the overall design.  Color, theme, and texture vs character motivation and external and internal conflict provide the meat of the piece, whether in a story or a quilt.

Doesn't that give you the warm fuzzies?

We live our lives, not realizing what will feed into our passion for writing.  Everything we see, everything we do or say, becomes a piece in the quilt or story that will complete the whole.  We are the result of our environment.  We are the product of our experiences.  Without the pieces we attain, we cannot tap into the emotion and intensity a character needs in order to please our final goal... readers.

Life is a puzzle and we are each a piece that benefits the whole.  And whether we quilt or write, we're in charge of how that puzzle is completed and resolved.

Do you like to put together puzzles?  Have you ever associated writing with quilting?  And if you were a quilter, what color theme would you choose?

Katherine
www.katherinebone.com
Duke by Day, Rogue by Night Available now at Crimson Romance

Motivation at Work

In the past few months, I've been re-organizing my life, from my house down to what makes me tick.  Not always recommended because of the time and energy it takes to organize stuff until what you own is the way you want it, but often needed to get you back on track.

In the process of this, I got to thinking...  What is it that makes me want to fluff my nest?  It's only the end of February.  Am I only trying to be on task with my New Year's goals?  (Must revisit list to see if that's the case.)  Has the unusual warm weather we've been having this winter boosted my desire to spring clean?  (If so, I'm ahead of the game.)

Whatever it is, LTC is very happy with the way things are coming.  One person's vision of organized isn't quite the same as somebody else's.  LTC likes everything in its place.  That was ingrained into him at West Point.  I didn't go there, so of course I'm content with stacks of paper.  The downside, now that everything is neatly arranged is, I need a treasure map to find what I need.  (Perhaps I can convince Captain Jack to navigate these waters.  I'm sure he'd oblige...)

But I digress... 

What organizing and reconnecting with little things has done for me lately is jump start my muse.  The poor dear has been sour and unruly lately, unafraid to bog me down in muck and then refuse to throw me a buoy.  (The grog must not be strong enough because she's been hurtling nasty asides, shouting, "Fester and drown, ye sabberous wastrel!")

So epiphanies are great things meant to pull you in out of the depths.  Here are some things I've learned lately.  (They're all good and common sense related, but oftentimes forgotten in the mundane.)

1. Clean doesn't always mean it's easier to find what you need.

2. Ridding the clutter does make the office look bigger.

3. Hanging a portrait of someone who's inspired you is a really GOOD thing.  (Throwing kisses at my muse!)

4. Surrounding yourself with positive quotes douses the embers of negativity.

5. It is possible to muffle a choir.

What are things you do to circumnavigate when you've veered off the charts? 

(I recently read Caitlin Crews' book, Princess From the Past.  The writing is phenomenal!)