Stuck-good

Look at what came in the mail. This stunning quilt from my Aunt Tony.  And she wants me to quilt it.  ME.

I assure you these pictures do not do this quilt justice.  It simply takes my breath.  Away every time I look at it I see the hours of work spent on it.  I look at the color choices, the design, the layout all of it and I am in awe.  She wants me to quilt this.

Ah...P-A-N-I-C.

When I think about quilting this self doubt creeps in.  "I cannot do this."  "I have no idea what to quilt on this."  "What if I ruin it?"  Okay. .. deep breath.

Typically when I see a quilt that has this many seams this close together I think meander.  A meander pattern allows me to systematically avoid said seams and avoid breaking a needle.  Meandering is not what this quilt deserves.  Okay, now what?

Usually when I see a quilt with lots of angles, I quilt the opposite.  Okay. Circles.  No, not circles.  Something flowing perhaps, but not circles.

When I look at a quilt sometimes the quilt will lead me in a certain direction.  What do I see when I look at this?  A Star.  A sun radiating out it's light.  Fire.  Flames.  No, no and no. hmm.

Why am I stuck on this quilt?  What is it that is causing all of this?

I think of the 100's of quilts that I have quilted in the last 5 years and I cannot understand what it is about this particular quilt that has me shaking in my boots.  Fear and Doubt about my ability as a quilter are not uncommon to me.  I am sure they are not uncommon to many quilters. Currently I am paralyzed with fear.  All I have done for the last few weeks is fret over how what I am going to do about this quilt.  Why?

I am not sure.

Perhaps the answer is just to start small.  Baby steps.  yes. First things first.  Load the quilt. (good start right) This is a step that is easy.  Time consuming, yes, but easy.  The simple rhythm of loading the quilt on the quilt frame is comforting, peaceful even.  Maybe once I get this beauty loaded on my machine the rest will come just as naturally. Fingers crossed.