Fear is a pig. KILL THE PIG!

Jon has this great quilt that his grandmother made for him when he was little.  It. Is. Awesome.  Old, soft, big, and perfect for snuggling with in front of the TV.  I decided I wanted to make one for Mac.  So I did.

Here's the thing; I've never made a quilt before.  But this post isn't about how to make a quilt.  There are far better resources out there to teach you how to make a cheater quilt than I.

I would like to address something else though, and that is fear. 

Warning: the following may get a little heavy, but you'll survive.

I like to learn. I like to learn new stuff, about stuff, how to do stuff...I just love the process of learning and doing and experiencing.  We live in a time of unprecedented access to knowledge and that makes the whole jack-of-all-trades thing lots easier than it has ever been in the history of the world.  But fear can keep us from these opportunities...fear of the unknown and fear of failure.  It is so much easier to never begin than it is to face the possibility that you might do it wrong, it might not work out, people will know you failed.  I see this in my students.  I remember fighting it myself as a teenager.  I still fight it myself.  But it is this fear that robs us of joy and accomplishment and experience and growth...some of the main reasons we are on this earth. 

Sometimes people ask me where I learned how to do some of the things I've done.  The answer is, I just did it.  I wanted to have chickens, so I got chickens.  I wanted to make cheese, so I ruined a batch before I tried again and succeeded.  I wanted to make a quilt, so I did.  I asked people how it was done.  I invited a friend over to help (thanks Auralee!).  I read about it.  I just jumped in and did it.  It isn't perfect.  In places, it isn't pretty.  But it is mine and I improve with every stitch.  And if I had really botched it, I would have been out what I paid for the material, but I always get to keep what I learned from the experience.

I'm not advocating jumping in with your eyes closed.  Do some research, ask around, and get help.  But then get moving and DO the best you can with what you have.

So, here's to failure and the death of fear!

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