Puzzle

I'm a INFJ - some of you will know what that means, some of you won't.  It's short hand for "I like people, but I prefer to not be around them."  *laughs*

I do like people, I'm gregarious and outgoing, but what feeds that is alone time, and LOTS of it. 

So, because I like people, I'm a joiner.  I like being a part of something bigger than myself, but once I'm in, I don't like it, because there's, you know - people, and they want stuff from you, but even worse, they expect stuff from you, and what if you can't (cuz you probably can't!) meet their expectations??!??   *eep* 



Given my druthers, I'd really much rather be with a book in a forest glade with nothing around me but the wind soughing through the trees, or better yet - in my sewing room, deep inside my head.

So, when 3 Creative Studios offered a quilt challenge, it seemed tailor-made for me. I get to participate in a group, but there aren't any real demands on me, other than a timetable that I can fudge a bit, because no one's actually waiting for me to show up with a product. Hurray! And, there's a challenge portion of the game - somethng that will help me grow.

In real life, it didn't work that way.  *s*  I became so intimidated at the idea of producing something that I would have to show to other quilters, some of whom were artists, that I froze. 





Our first challenge was to produce, by the end of February, a quilt on the theme "puzzle". I was stumped. I mean everyone knows what a “puzzle” is – and I didn’t want to do that - i.e. no jigsaws, no rubiks cubes, no labyrinths with a Minotaur hiding somewhere… (well actually, I'd love to do a labyrinth with a Minotaur hiding in it, I just don't have the skill to produce such a thing yet!) So, I was trying to think of something that would connote “puzzle” without being too literal. And I came up with... bupkus. *le sigh*




I was starting to feel a bit panicky about my lack of an idea, I even went so far as to canvass my friends for what their idea of a "puzzle" was (sudoko, crosswords, riddles, jenga) but my cats provided the answer the other night.

I was in our home office, doing something on the computer, when one of the cats began playing chase in the hallway with a toy mouse.  I noticed it was Maggie, one of two of our cats that doesn't like toy mice, so I looked a little closer and realized she was batting around a REAL mouse. 

A REAL MOUSE!!!

I followed her down the hall as she picked it up in her mouth, trotted off to the kitchen, dropped it, and began batting it around again.  Two of the other cats came into the kitchen to see what she was doing, so at one point, there were three adult cats surrounding the baby mouse.   The mouse - well, it's best we leave the mouse merrily "playing" in the kitchen with the cats -  but later, when I went back to the office, I wondered, "How in the world does a house with five cats* in it, have a mouse?

And I had my puzzle.

I immediately did a quick line drawing of my puzzle quilt: five bowls of food lined up in the kitchen representing our five cats, our white porcelain tile floor as a background, and our dark wood kitchen cabinets. 

I like the little bowls - composed of the tiniest bits of scraps; the black sequined mouse, and the little silver tracks of where the mouse has been. 



I think that with the next puzzle, I'll be less intimidated and be able to produce something that's more "me"; and though, as usual, I see all the places I could improve it the second it's done (from both a technical and artistic perspective); but in the meantime, I'm pleased I got over the hurdle.
I'm looking forward to the next challenge!



*When BSP and I married, I had two cats, and BSP had two, one of whom passed away.  We later fostered two four week old kittens, and then couldn't bear to give them up, so ended up with FIVE cats.   The craziest thing about that is not that we have five cats, but that we're DOG people.  But that's a whole other story.  ;)

Anonymous

7 comments:

  1. I love what you did with the challenge, both psychologically and aesthetically. You brought personal interpretation and humor into the craft, to great effect.

    We have a solo cat; she used to be a very fine mouser but she doesn't find mice interesting anymore - now she only hunts chipmunks! Since we don't usually worry about chipmunk control, she has been deemed a Useless Cat but we love her anyhow.

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  2. Kit, I love the puzzle! It is interesting, smart and cute. Hey, I'm also describing you! You're fabulous! Have a great time sewing with yourself!

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  3. This is wonderful! I love your interpretation of the challenge. I'm so happy you didn't go with an obvious puzzle choice...the word means so much more, as you found out. Beautiful as always!!

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  4. I love this, what a wonderful way to interpret the challenge - nicely done!

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  5. Michele25.2.10

    So that's what I am....an "INFJ."
    Finally, problem solved! Or at least diagnosed.
    That explains a lot. Many thanks.

    Brilliant interpretation! I totally get it.

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  6. Truly like this piece. It is whimsical and beautiful. What makes me laugh that DH and me live in a house ruled by two three year old cats ... and we're dog people, too ;-))

    Take care!
    Frauke

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  7. Lovely! I love the "floor".
    It was wonderful to be a part of the guild meeting! Thanks again for getting the ball rolling!

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