Here's what I've learned:
1. While I thought I would spend the year feeling deprived, it's been quite the opposite so far. I've come to the realization that I'd built this wonderful stash of fabric collected over ten years, but I almost never looked through it. You know they say that you wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time. It was the same way with my stash. I was constantly bringing new fabric into my studio and using it in my quilts. The fabric I already owned is just as beautiful and useful, but maybe because I'd seen it for so long, it faded in its ability to excite me. Now that I'm forced to use what I have, I'm finding renewed excitement in what I already own.
2. One buying habit of which I was guilty was to buy any gadget, tool, or gizmo that I deemed cool. Many of these I've never opened. Now I'm rediscovering these items and learning new techniques. My next quilt will make use of a wedge ruler I bought years ago and have never once used.
3. Being thrifty enhances creativity. This is one of the most profound and surprising things I've learned. I remember reading books about life in early America. The kids didn't have plastic toys or board games, much less computers and video games. They made their own games and toys with sticks, rocks, whatever they found. And in doing so, they became more creative. I've found this to be so true in my journey! I think my creativity has been jump started in so many ways. I'm always thinking of new ways to use what I have. I go to sleep designing quilts in my head. I wake up each morning anxious to try something new. Creativity abounds!
4. One of the most important things I've learned is that we really do live in a small world. This blog has connected me with quilters all over the world. I've made new friends, and I've come to realize that we quilters are all so much alike no matter where we live.
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