Doodles make the BEST quilt designs!

I hope by now, you have had  time to do a little free motion quilting using your favorite doodles…I find it very relaxing.  After 10 minutes of warm up, I’m usually in the zone, quilting away.  The first 10 minutes can be the hardest...It takes the right brain at least that long to wrestle the left brain to the mat and force it to give up the lists of things to do…problems to be solved…etc… ( More on the right brain/left brain another time..)

Doodles make the best quilt designs because they are personal.  They are as unique as your signature.  They are also original.  As much as I love quilted feathers, they are not original.  Everyone does quilted feathers.  There are many many books about how to create the perfect quilted feather!  This brings me to my next point, doodles are easy.  Doodles are hard wired in your brain.  They have been repeated so many times throughout your lifetime that there are neural pathways making them automatic.  You don’t have to think about them (let alone read a book about them!).  Doodles are as easy as riding a bike!  Because they are automatic, you can concentrate on the mechanics of sewing: stitching speed, moving the quilt, even stitches…

For the next few days, work on free motion quilting your doodles.  Try to work for at least 20 minutes at a time.  Turn off the news and just day dream or listen to your favorite music.  (oh, and see if you can connect your motifs without lifting the sewing machine needle….)