Good morning Friend,

A few days ago, I was looking for something important.

Not just "important" important.

Quilter important.

A piece of fabric.

I knew exactly where it was.

I had put it somewhere safe.

Which, as every quilter knows, is the first step in never seeing it again.

I checked the cutting table.

Not there.

I checked under my desk.

Not there.

I checked the stack of projects that I absolutely plan to finish someday.

Still not there.

At this point, I began the traditional quilting search ritual:

Step 1: Look everywhere.

Step 2: Look in all the same places again.

Step 3: Ask Chip if he's seen it.

Step 4: Become convinced someone has broken into the building specifically to steal a six-inch piece of fabric.

After a full twenty minutes of searching, I finally found it.

Exactly where I had put it.

Safely tucked inside another project bag.

Inside a larger tote.

Inside a closet.

Behind a stack of batting.

Protected from all known threats, including me.

The funny thing is that quilting isn't the only place this happens.

We save things for later.

We put projects away until we have more time.

We wait until conditions are perfect.

We tuck away ideas we want to try someday.

Sometimes our creativity ends up in the same witness protection program as that missing fabric.

Hidden so well we forget where we put it.

This week, maybe pull out one project.

Just one.

The unfinished one.

The intimidating one.

The one you've been "saving for later."

Because later has a habit of hiding behind the batting, too.

Until next time,

Donna

P.S. If you're currently looking for something you put somewhere safe, I have complete confidence you'll find it approximately three minutes after buying a replacement.