I Have Something to Say: An Ongoing Project

Hey y'all! It seems I blinked and nearly 2 months flew by. I've been busy sewing, but I can't share anything quite yet. Today though, I'm sharing a really personal project. To explain it, however, I feel like I need to go back a bit.

The past 8 months have been...surreal. There's been so much growth and learning and faith and all-around living. I left an unhealthy marriage and essentially started back at square one. I sorted through a lot of guilt and confusion. I struggled through loneliness and disappointment. I've learned to smile and laugh for real again. And I'm learning to speak. Really speak.


I know I can't be alone when I often put my thoughts under wraps. True to Southern hospitality, I'm asked, "How are you?" a lot. And for years and years, I've simply replied, "I'm fine." Even when my world was in shambles and the strongest thing on me was my shoelaces, I bit the inside of my cheek and managed the lie. Because who would want my burdens?

I learned though, when I was put to the fire, I would speak. During the hardest time of my life, the first thing I did was call my mother. I had something to say and dang it, I was going to finally say it. And months later, that idea stuck with me and inspired me. I've finally decided that I have something to say. What better way to say it than with quilts?


If you follow Jess @ Quilty Habit, you know she is really passionate about words on quilts and saying things that matter to you. Though my quilt is far less political, it was her that got the idea rolling that I could say what I wanted in the way I was most comfortable speaking.

I'm (Not) Fine is a piece inspired by my valley, my dark patch, my low point. Though it is in my rearview mirror, I was still coping when I planned this quilt. The entire process has taken nearly 6 months. I often worked on this when the house was empty because, frankly, it was heavy. Heavy on my heart, heavy on my mind. And working with that heaviness has lifted a weight off my shoulders.


The words are paper pieced, using patterns from a book called Quilt Talk. I can't remember the Kona colors except the pale blue/green, which is Ice Frappe I believe.
I listed many of the things I should have said rather than 'I'm fine' and free motion quilted them in the background with matching thread, causing them to nearly disappear. Only when you look, really look, can you read what's written.

This mini quilt is the most intentionally designed piece I've ever made. Never once did I leave anything to chance or just wing it --- I had every detail picked out from the beginning. Though that normally isn't my style, I couldn't imagine approaching this quilt any other way. I plan to make more quilts following the theme ' I Have Something to Say' and I encourage y'all to join me! It's both terrifying and liberating to bare yourself in fabric and thread and, I'm sure, you have something to say just as much as I do.