Mosaic Report

Ever since I started quilting, I've become fascinated with the importance of paying attention to the small details of life. According to my Medicine Cards, this matter of paying attention to the small things is a quality of Ant.

"Ant people are active, community-minded folks who see the greater future needs of their town. Ant people are planners, like Squirrel, and are content to see their dreams being built a little at a time. In today's society, that is a rare quality."

This perspective is enshrined in folk sayings such as "A penny saved is a penny earned." Or "pay attention to the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves."

In quilting, you have to retain two sorts of attention in your head simultaneously. One is an image of the finished quilt, the "where are you going" part of the project. The other is the attention you give to making one part of that finished product at a time. It is the only way to build a quilt.

And it's the only way to make a mosaic, like this one that Jay is building on the wall of my office.

These are all acts of patience and of faith, I believe. Faith in reaching the destination you have set for yourself be it completing a book, a piece of music, a quilt or a mosaic. And the patience to understand that the only way to get there is one well-considered step at a time.

This is going to be beautiful, don't you think?